Say It Again
by Little Sakii
Summary: "Kiss me again" He whispered and she turned a bright red, "What are you saying, you can't just ask me to-" He frowned, "Then say 'it' again" Sakura smiled sadly and cried, "I hate you" He caressed her cheek softly, "I wish I could see you." His eyes turned grey.
1. Kuro Neko

_*** - This is a sign for my readers that the chapter has been edited with new content._

* * *

 _Kuro Neko_

"Sakura,"

The young girl awoke to her grandmother's voice and the sweet scent of coffee. She sat up from her bed and smiled at the woman who woke her, "Good morning, grandmother." She took the small cup that was being held in front of her and took a small sip. Usually it would be Sakura who would wake her grandmother. But she hadn't been feeling at her best for a few days now.

"Feeling any better, darling?"

Sakura nodded as she stood and walked towards her small maroon dresser. She took out her undergarments and placed them on her bed, "I feel very light still, but I can make it through the day." She placed her uniform on the bed as well and faced her grandmother, "I'll be out in a few minutes and I'll make breakfast then." Her grandmother nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Sakura to get ready. As Sakura bathed herself, she began to feel rather odd. Her chest felt warm, and it was something that had been happening for the past two days. At first, she had thought it was heart burn or maybe even a barf coming up. But now, she wasn't exactly sure.

She dried herself and began to get dressed. She started with her knee high white stockings and she tied them lightly around her leg with a black ribbon, to keep them in place. Next, she slid on her maroon skirt that reached just above her knees, it was a very slick material with absolutely no wrinkles on it. Sakura then, moved on to iron her white dress shirt. She did this, every morning to ensure that she looked well dressed and clean. Although, she had to get up quite early to do so. Buttoning the last button on the shirt, she picked the collar up and began to tie a black ribbon around her neck and formed a bow. It was a small touch that she liked to add to the uniform that had absolutely no feminine touch. Finally, she put on her black blazer. The absolutely last thing she did, was pick her long pink flowing hair up into a ponytail with two small strands framing the sides of her face. She looked into the mirror and smiled. She was ready.

"Grandmother!" Sakura called out as she rushed to the kitchen and set two small plates on the table. She opened the cabinet and took out two cups and the coffee beans. She set the cups down next to the plates and rushed to put water on the stove. Quickly making her way to the cabinet next to the refrigerator, she took out four slices of bread and place two into the toaster. Once again, she made her way to the stove and placed a small pot in which she began to pour oatmeal in. She began to slice strawberries into small pieces and placed them into the oatmeal as well before pouring milk into it.

"Are you rushing everything again, Sakura?" The elder chuckled as she began to make her way towards the table.

"Grandmother, please take your time to get there." Sakura smiled and began spreading strawberry jam onto the toast and placed it on one of the plates before pouring hot water into the cups and mixing in the coffee. She quickly placed the two other slices of bread into the toaster and stirred the oatmeal. Placing a small bowl next to the finished meal (The plate that already had the toast on it), she helped her grandmother sit on the chair.

"You always make my breakfast first." Her grandmother smiled and took a bite out of the toast. Sakura nodded before turning off the stove and rushing to her grandmother's side to pour oatmeal into the small bowl she had placed earlier. Quickly, she took the two slices of toast in the toaster and spread jam on those as well. She looked at the time and her eyes widened.

"I'll be late!" Sakura exclaimed and shoved one piece of toast quickly down her throat. Big mistake, she began to choke. She rushed towards her coffee and drank it all in two gulps. She ran to the restroom and came out to find her grandmother holding her school bag, "Thank you grandmother!" Sakura smiled and shoved her toothpaste and toothbrush into her bag, "I'll brush my teeth at school." She explained and took the piece of toast in her mouth. It was left hanging as Sakura ran to put on her black shoes and out the door.

 _I know what I'll be writing in my journal entry today. Sakura Haruno, late for school. For the first time EVER!_ She thought as she ran through the streets trying to get by people as fast as she could, while also making sure she finished her breakfast. She saw a small alley and a lightbulb in her head lid up. _That's right, I could just take the shortcut!_ The alley would take her to the rose garden that was placed just down the street from the school. Without thinking twice, Sakura ran into the narrow pathway. She quickly sprinted past the rose bushes and began to look for a way out. She couldn't necessarily just walk through them, they had thorns all over them and this was something Sakura was not willing to go through. She then saw a small opening in between the red roses and white. She ran towards it and decided that jumping over the gap, would be much safer. The gap was big enough for her to merely walk through, but if she jumped, she wouldn't be stuck with thorns.

"Shannaro!" Sakura yelled as she took a giant leap, straight onto the street and landed perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. Her left foot landed just fine, but her right foot got stuck on the sidewalk crack and she tumbled forward, "A-Ah!" Sakura shut her eyes, waiting for the impact. She had expected it to hurt much more than it did, but it was surprisingly soft. She gripped the sidewalk but noticed something very important. It felt, muscle-ly? And it felt like it had fabric? She snapped her eyes open and found herself staring into dark ebony. She had fallen on top of another teen. Sakura was enticed in his eyes and didn't move for a whole minute.

"You're… Heavy." He breathed and she blushed.

"I'm sorry!" She quickly got off of him and picked her things up before reaching to grab his bag as well, "Here," She held his bag out and he took it. She was about to apologize again, but a loud bell interrupted her. Her eyes widened, "I'M LATE!" She quickly took off into the direction of the school, leaving the young boy on the floor.

* * *

Sakura breathed very heavily in her seat. She had barely made it before Tanako-sensei, closed the door. She was very lucky to have extreme athletic skills when she needed to. Suddenly, two hands were slammed onto her desk.

"Sakura!"

The pink haired girl looked up to find hazelnut eyes glaring down at her. Whose eyes did they belong to? None other than her best friend Misori. Misori was a very elegant young lady with a lovely crème complexion that was brought out by her hip length long black hair and of course, hazelnut eyes.

"Yes?" Sakura answered and her friend rolled her eyes. Misori had a habit of being very unladylike at times. Mostly around her best friend of course. You see, her personality differed quite greatly from her appearance. Misori acted much like a guy, she didn't watch her language nor her manners. But if Sakura reprimanded her, she cleaned up her act in front of others.

"I've been calling you for the past three minutes, what's up with you lately? It's rude to ignore people." Misori pouted and then pointed at Sakura's notebook, "What's Kuro Neko?"

Sakura looked down at what was written on her notebook and was flabbergasted. When had she written that? She quickly turned the page and grinned sheepishly, "I've just really been wanting a pet, but grandmother doesn't allow it." Why was she writing 'Black Cat' on her notebook? Why was she so unfocused today? Since she had woken today, Sakura felt uneasy and sick. And now, she was lying to Misori. What exactly was going on with her?

"Well, you ready to go to that place after scho-" Misori's sentence was cut off

"Everyone take your seats. We have a transfer student today. Please do treat him with respect." The man in his thirty's sighed as he rubbed his black hair in distress.

"Ne, do you think he's cute?" Misori leaned back on her chair to whisper. She was seated right in front of Sakura and so she often leaned back and whispered at her during lecture.

"Who cares?" Sakura answered and looked back down at her notebook and began to sketch. She had no interest in boys, although she got quite a few love confessions every other day. She just wanted to finish school and not worry about keeping a relationship.

"Uchiha Sasuke, pleasure to make your acquaintance." That smooth husky voice reached the girl's ears and something inside of her burned.

 _ **I will find you. Wherever you are, I promise you I will find you and bring you back to me.**_

"Please take that empty seat in the back and let's begin the lecture."

Sakura's eyes widened at the sentence that reached her ears. What was that? Who was that? She was snapped back to reality at the sound of a chair being pulled back and she realized the new kid had been placed next to her. She instinctively looked to the sound, and her eyes widened. He noticed her and nodded in acknowledgement. She blushed slightly and went back to sketching. It was the guy she bumped into that morning. He was the new kid!

* * *

"Wowzers, he sure is a hot piece of a-" Misori was then flicked on the forehead by her companion.

"It is rude to speak of people in such a manner Misori, you know I don't like that." Sakura said and grabbed a pumpkin filled bread from the lunch line. Sakura was a fan of sweets, she enjoyed anything that had the slightest of sugar in it. It was something she ate when she was nervous though, and so Misori began to silently wonder exactly what was wrong with her friend.

"You're so uptight, I don't understand why I'm still your friend. I guess I'll feel bad if I'm not because I know you have no other friends!" Misori mocked and laughed. Sakura didn't answer, mostly because she didn't know how to do so. Misori had a habit of throwing this subject into their conversations without warning. She didn't do so every day, but she did so, nonetheless.

Sakura sat in her seat and began to take bites out of her bread. Misori was shoving her turkey sandwich down her throat while eyeing the new kid and the girls around him.

"Let's hang out after school? We can become friends and hang out now that you're-" The girl holding his shoulder was forced to step back when Sasuke suddenly stood.

"I have no interest in being friends with any of you." He suddenly walked out and the girls were left in shock.

"Woah, he has a temper too." Misori was definitely impressed unlike the pinkette who was simply flabbergasted at his behavior. She mostly wondered if she annoyed him like that when she bumped into him. Would he go off on her as well?

* * *

Before leaving class, the teacher reminded everyone that there were kidnappers on the loose and they should not travel alone. Of course nobody paid much attention to the announcement and left right away.

"We should really go through your basement to try and find pictures from your childhood. Like we used to when we were younger." Misori said and Sakura shook her head.

"That isn't a good idea Misori."

Sakura doesn't remember her childhood. All she truly remembers is waking up one day to find that she was a middle schooler and needed to buy a new uniform. Ages 6-13 were a mystery to her. Grandma tells her that she fell down the stairs when she was 13 and hit her head very hard so the doctors assume it was temporary amnesia and that she would remember all of it one day. But here she was, 17 and still no clue of what used to be.

"We're here!" Misori exclaimed and rushed towards the sea dropping her belongings far from the waves. Sakura smiled and did the same. Misori was very high spirited and she was not, most would think that they would not get along but they both believed opposites attract and that is why their friendship has lasted so long. They both came here often, to watch the waves in all their glory.

They were free to do as they please while they were not. They had made it a promise to live like the waves of the ocean and be free, but being so young that was still hard to do.

"Sakura come on get-!" Misori's eyes widened and were looking terrified at a figure behind her friend.

As Sakura turned around, she realized that her life was about to end. There in front of her, stood a giant man. About four inches taller than she was and was very buff. He grabbed the small girl by the neck and she desperately tried to push him off.

"Found you."

Is this how she would die? Would she really cease to exist today? Air was needed desperately in her system, two more minutes of this grip and she'd black out.

The sky looks wonderful today. Very calm and collected, very peach colored and vibrant. She wouldn't mind this being the last thing she saw with her emerald eyes. Yea, she didn't mind. She slowly started to close her eyes when she was suddenly dropped to the floor.

"AAGH!"

"Don't mess with my woman." That voice again.

"You dare try to burn me!" The man who attacked Sakura yelled and suddenly was engulfed in flames

"I didn't _try_ , I did."


	2. Charlotte

_*** (Very small changes)_

* * *

 _Emerald eyes stared at the big Greek looking white building and she shook her head. "Not this place. Darn." she picked her bag up and started walking away. Her destination couldn't be too far, **she** should be around here somewhere, and she would find her no matter what. She began to pace back and forth whispering, "It's this way... mmmm no, maybe it's this way?" To be completely honest, she was still  just a child and was therefore lost._

 _"My what beautiful pink hair you have." That silvery voice caught the child's attention. She directed her eyes into the direction and was found with an older man's figure. The poor girl knew nothing about running from strangers and only tilted her head slightly before beginning to speak._

 _"Who are you?" She asked while looking up at this random adult, "Are you a pedophile?" She asked raising her brow and his jaw dropped to the floor. How could this child know what a pedophile was and not know that she shouldn't talk to strangers? More so, how in the hell did he look like a pedophile? He was in his mid 20's and was very friendly. He did't even offer her candy. He was slightly offended, but smiled nonetheless._

 _"P-Pedophile?! No absolutely not!" The man flushed and suddenly regained composure, "My name is Namikaze Minato, I teach here at Konoha Academy." His blue eyes looked intently into hers. He felt a strong power from within her. He could sense it clearly and knew that she was special._

 _"So this is the place," She said to herself and turned to look at the building once more._

 _"What are you doing outside this place little miss?" Minato asks and she stares up at him once more._

 _"My mother sent me here. Said she wanted to surprise me but I don't know where she went." She placed my thumb and index finger under her chin as if to 'think'. Minato's face was now adorned with a frown but even so he looked majestic. His smooth skin with those dreamy sky blue eyes that were complemented with that sun-like yellow hair, it was almost like he was a super hero in one of her favorite cartoons._

 _"What may I call you little miss?" Minato knelt down to her level, the girl smiled softly._

 _"Haruno Sakura!"_

* * *

"Sakura! Hey, Sakura!" She knew that voice. She's know that voice for years.

"M-Misori" Sakura croaked, this woman was shaking her like never before. Apart from the shaking, Sakura had a terrible headache and her throat was extremely sore.

"Oh thank goodness! You're okay, I'm so relieved." Misori cried and threw her arms around her friend. Misori had never been so terrified before. Sakura was in her arms and Misori still felt the need to cry and hug tighter.

"What?" Sakura was confused but suddenly remembered the events that had taken place. She immediately sat up and began to get into a defensive position. This man could return at any moment, she would not be caught off guard then. Misori only watched as her friend began to act paranoid. Sakura rarely acted in such way but when this side of her came out, it was a serious matter. Apart from that, the sky was turning a deep blue and they needed to head home.

"That man and the fire, what happened?" the pink haired girl looked around the beach trying to find traces of the incident. Misori raised her eyebrow at her.

"What are you talking about? I should be asking you why you suddenly collapsed!"

What? Why she suddenly _collapsed?_ No, there's no way that incident didn't happen, Sakura could still feel where the pressure was at her neck. She was definitely almost killed!

"Misori, the attacker, he choked me and was attacked by flames." Sakura explained and Misori stared awkwardly

"Sakura, it's been you and myself alone. No one has been here."

No one?

" _ **Don't mess with my woman."**_

Where had she heard that voice?

* * *

"Okay grandma, I'm taking a bath now!" Sakura called out to make sure her grandmother would know her whereabouts. She entered the tub and relaxed. But she still couldn't wrap her head around everything today. The strange occurrences that took place, were too real to be fake. There was absolutely no way that Sakura imagined all of the violence and the voices. She knew that there had to be a good explanation as to why Misori was somehow not recalling the incident. But the pinkette knew for a fact that _she_ , was not crazy.

She was confused. Extremely confused, she knew what she heard and what she experienced. There is no way that the incident never happened, yet Misori seems to not know a thing. She didn't understand. She sighed and untied her hair to let it fall into the water. As she washed down she realized her hair was getting too long. She only ever kept it mid back length but noticing now, it was reaching her bottom. She needed a cut soon.

She was walking back towards her room when she noticed grandma was on the phone. Grandma had been on the line for quite sometime, if she recalled correctly. Wasn't she on the phone when the teen made her way to the tub? Sakura only shook her head. The day was getting too much for her and she needed to rest. She would feel better in the morning and everything would be sorted out in the morning.

"I am not sure how much longer it will hold up, it seems to be just fine. No she has asked nothing about it nor said nothing to me about the incident you claim happ-"

"Goodnight grandma." Sakura called out and noticed her grandmother was startled. The elder woman hesitantly turned her head towards Sakura and smiled weakly. This made Sakura very uncomfortable. Grandmother was not the type to give out smiles such as that one. Her grandmother was always cheerful or calm. Never in between and never sad. This was a very strange incident but Sakura chose to ignore it and continue on her way.

"G-Goodnight dear."

What was up with everyone today?

* * *

"So I was thinking maybe we could stop by the pet store and buy you your black cat!" Misori grinned and started to do drumrolls on her desk.

"No thank you, I'm okay." Sakura smiled and sat down. How could Misori even suggest a pet? Wasn't Sakura showing signs of mental illness? How in the hell could she take care of a pet at the moment? And before you wonder, no. Sakura did not actually believe that she herself was going insane, she just merely began to be skeptical about the beach incident and was starting to believe that there truly was, no one there.

"Aww come on, after the fall you had yesterday I would think you'd be less boring and live life to the fullest!" Her long hair suddenly engulfed Sakura's notebook.

"Misori move!" Sakura pushed the hair off of her notebook and suddenly felt a pull on her own hair.

"You usually put your hair up." She stated and Sakura shrugged. It was true, usually Sakura wore her hair up in a ponytail, but today she let it all fall down naturally.

"Thought I would try to be less boring." Sakura watched as her friend registered what was said and smiled.

"That's true, well it suits you." Misori gave a thumbs up.

"Thank you." Sakura reached for a pen from her bag when she suddenly felt her desk shake and someone grab hold of her hair. Again.

"Why would you burn your hair?!" Misori exclaimed and veridian eyes widened. Sakura dropped the pen and took her hair back from her friend's hands. She examined it closely. It was a small section, almost unnoticeable. It was charred and shorter than her other strands.

"Aha! I'm not crazy!" Sakura declared and waved the strand in front of Misori, "See? There really was fire there at the beach yesterday. I knew I wasn't crazy." She was so relieved to know that she was sane.

"Sakura, we've gone through this." Misori began but Sakura cut her off,

"Well then explain how else I would have burned my hair." Sakura stared at Misori who looked puzzled.

"You weren't careful while cooking."

* * *

Sakura looked out the window into the courtyard and watched the trees that surrounded the school flow with the wind. They looked lively and happy, this may be an unlikely thought to think when looking at trees, but Sakura always over analyzed her surroundings. She sighed and turned back to her notebook. She sketched when she was stressed, it was a sort of escape. At the moment, she was sketching fire. How suiting, since that's all she could thing about. Misori and Sakura had met at thirteen, and their friendship was more than just a label now. Sakura loved Misori like a sister and she thought Misori did so as well. Although, this incident made Sakura think that maybe their bnd wasn't as strong as she once thought it was. The fact that Misori didn't believe her actually hurt her feelings. She thought that Misori of all people could tell she wasn't crazy.

"Do you have the notes from this semester?"

Sakura almost jumped as he spoke to her. She turned to look at him for the first time since he arrived yesterday. His pale skin was adorned with his dark raven locks as they cupped the sides of his face. He wore a blue sash around his head causing a loose strand to be centered between his onyx obsidian eyes and she was internally swooning. Truth be told, she thought it was just her embarrassment from having bumped into him. She began to wonder if he had even thought about confronting her about such a disgraceful meeting, but he seemed to have a very cool composure and didn't seem to be bothered by the occurrence.

"Y-Yes." She answered and opened her notebook. She reached into her bag and took out a bookmark and placed it in the notes, "The bookmark is where the notes begin, all of them have dates. You can return it when finished." She handed him the object. He gracefully took it from her hands. She noticed he did so in a slow manner and inwardly did back flips. She had never thought about boys, education was always the most important thing for Sakura and so boys were never on her mind. But this boy was making her heart skip beats and her face get extremely hot.

"Aa, thank you Sakura." He gave a small nod of appreciation.

"What a beautiful voice," She unconsciously whispered and he turned to her direction. She jumped. Did she just say that out loud? Oh God. She did, didn't she? Sakura turned a million shades of red in a second before her face decided that it wanted to choose a dark tomato color to focus on for the next few minutes. Sakura quickly threw her hands in front of herself and began to wave them like a maniac.

"I'm so sorry! That was n-nothing, n-nothing at all! Y-You see I-I w-was j-j-just...!" She quickly gathered her things and ran out of the room. She ran down the halls in a fast manner, only thinking that he probably thought she was crazy too!

* * *

Misori had gymnastics practice today so Sakura was walking alone. She wished Misori hadn't had practice, maybe she would be able to talk to her about how to handle the situation with Sasuke. Man, Sakura was so embarrassed. First she basically glomps him on his first day of school, and now she says some weird shit while he only wants her notebook? She definitely had some issues. Maybe Misori was right? Maybe Sakura was having some sort of meltdown and was hallucinating and acting differently. The pinkette was so confused at what life was throwing her way lately. This felt ten times worse than waking up one day being thirteen years old and not remembering your past. And that, was a pretty horrible feeling. Sakura was now sad, and knew she needed to change the subject that her mind was playing around with. She began to think about her day and suddenly, her mind focused on one single thing. Sasuke. 'What a beautiful voice.' Sakura stopped in her tracks and her hair spiked up slightly, as a chill ran through her body. WHY WOULD SHE SAY THAT? HOW EMBARRASSING.

"Why are you being so weird Sakura?" She sighed to herself and looked down at the charred strands in her hair again, "I wonder if he thought I was weird." Black flames engulfed her. She panicked and dropped to the floor. This again? She then realized exactly what was going on.

"I'm going crazy, this is all in my head. Just keep walking Sakura." Sakura breathed and approached the flame wall. She knew it had to be her mind playing games on her. She smiled as she began to cross the walls. She had one this mind game. "AAH!" she held her right hand to her chest, oh no. She had lost. This, this was real. It was very real and now her hand, wait a minute. "It's still burning?" Her eyes widened and breathing quickened. The black flame was engulfing her body and not stopping. She fell on her knees and cried out in pain. How do she stop it? How can she make it out alive? This pain was too much she just couldn't hold on much longer.

She was suddenly picked up and was flying out of the flames. Her eyes were clenched shut and she thought an angel had come and was escorting her to Heaven. She heard feet touch the ground and so her eyes opened. She was greeted with the image of three people.

"Damn it Naruto, we told you to keep watch!" One of the three yelled at the other. The owner of the voice had his black spiky hair in a ponytail and an annoyed expression on his face. 'Naruto' strangely had whiskers on his face and bright yellow hair, sort of mustard looking. The two gave each other glares.

"Shut up Shikamaru, I knew what I was doing!" Naruto yelled at whom she now knew was Shikamaru.

"Yea, you weren't looking out for her. You idiot." Shikamaru sighed

"Now, now both of you settle down. We need to start focusing on the real task at hand." An older man, with hair much like Naruto's turned to face me, "Sakura," Said girl, blinked.

"We missed you so much, it really is great to see you again." Naruto smiled.

Sakura nodded in acknowledgement and then turned her attention to the person holding her.

Onyx clashed with emerald.

"O-Oh God." Sakura blushed and quickly pushed Sasuke off of her. She placed her hands on her faces and began to shake her head back and forth in an embarrassed manner, "I'm so sorry I said w-what I did! I-I didn't m-mean to be weird!" Sasuke only scowled. This worried Sakura. Was this some sort of payback for earlier? Maybe he hated girls complimenting him?

"Aha Sasuke's mad that she didn't remember him!" Naruto laughed and in turn received a death glare from Sasuke.

"Sakura Haruno, pleased to finally make your acquaintance once again. We are here to fulfill your uncle's request from long ago." The 'older' Naruto proclaimed and smiled softly, "That is, to take you from here."

Naruto ran over to her, took her hand and twirled her around. Sakura could only go along with his actions and began to get dizzy before being brought to his arms. The hug was warm and had a sweet vibe to it. Sakura felt safe and was ready to put her arms around him. But she refrained from doing so, since this was still a stranger to her.

"It's so great to see you!" He cried happily and tightened his arms around her

"Dobe!" Naruto was grabbed by his collar and Sasuke started giving him a lecture.

' _To take you…From here..'?_

"THOSE ARE DEFINITELY KIDNAPPING WORDS!" Sakura yelled and quickly sprinted off. No way was she about to be caught by these sickos. She was too young to die in a white van or even a basement for that matter!

"Well I couldn't have imagined this to be easy." The older man sheepishly grinned

"Wha-?" her face was suddenly on a chest and someone had their hands around her body, embracing her strongly.

"Do you really think I'm going to let you leave? Don't joke with me!" His voice was harsh but had the same smooth texture it had, had when he asked for her notebook.

Just who was he?

"How long," He began as he grabbed her shoulders and stared at her face, "do you think I've been searching for you?" searching for her?

"Since I woke up in that God forsaken place again and found out that _you_ weren't there!" He yelled and looked down, "Just how do you think I took that?" Sakura was flabbergasted. This man was in pain, yelling at her over something she didn't know about.

"DON'T YOU KNOW HOW HARD I'VE TRIED TO KEEP ON LIVING JUST FOR THIS MOMENT?" He cried out, "Who said you could just go and forget people, DAMN IT!"

"Sasuke enough" The blonde man took her from Sasuke's grasp and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder

"It isn't her fault," He stated and Sasuke slapped his hand off.

"Don't act so wise right now Minato." Sasuke growled and placed his sight back on her.

She stared into his eyes and observed as his anger subdued but the scowl was still evident.

"Ne, the bastard is still angry that Sakura didn't remember _him_ at all. Not even when he transferred." Shikamaru sighed

"Sakura, we didn't mean to startle you." Minato said but Sakura's eyes didn't leave Sasuke's

"Move." Sasuke pushed Minato to the side and grabbed her shoulders once more, "Even if you have lost your memories of back then," She could see the pain in his eyes, "You are mine."

Suddenly his lips were on hers.

* * *

"So you're telling me, I used to go to a school where people possessed supernatural abilities?" Sakura asked and Minato nodded, "From the ages of six to thirteen. And at thirteen I was released because my uncle said so?" Once again, a nod.

"Doesn't make sense at all." Sakura exclaimed and everyone sweat dropped.

"Let me bring up a scenario then. When you get badly injured, don't you realize that your wound doesn't hurt much and, depending on the size of the wound, it is either almost gone or completely gone in a couple of hours?"

She nods, she has noticed her injuries don't last, in fact the burn that she had suffered earlier was almost completely gone now.

"That is because you have the ability to heal. Your body heals itself rather quickly, and if you learn to control it. You can heal others as well." Minato smiled, "I possess the power of speed." He demonstrated by flashing towards Naruto and back to her.

"My Charlotte is the manifestation of air." Naruto smiled and formed a sphere of blue looking air in his palm,

"I have shadow possession." Shikamaru sighed but did not show

"You should remember what mine is." Sasuke scowled from the corner he was sitting in. The red hand mark still evident on his right cheek.

"Sasuke's is fire. But not the black fire you saw earlier, his is regular fire."

"We call these supernatural powers, Charlotte's. They can be dangerous or not dangerous at all. But we keep our students at the academy to avoid experiments done to them by scientists who believe these are powers to be reckoned with. Nobody really understands why we have the powers that we do, but we can learn to control them and keep ourselves safe. Your uncle sent you back because of an incident that I would prefer him to tell you. Only if you would like to come with us." Minato extended his hand.

"Wait so yesterday when I was at the beach," She started and Minato nodded.

"We were all there, the kidnappers are scientists who seek for those with Charlotte's. They found you and would have taken you. Sasuke used his fire to save you and another companion of ours erased your friend's memories and replaced them with different ones. I'm sorry we made you stress." Minato frowned as if ashamed for his actions.

"I won't go with you. I'm sorry, but I don't remember a single thing and to be completely honest, you all look like real creeps!" She yelled and ran off.

* * *

 **I encourage you to review and let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. I would appreciate it! Constructive criticism is welcome!**


	3. Promise Kept

_xxx (VERY IMPORTANT CHANGES DONE)_

 **A/N IMPORTANT: One of my reviewers mentioned that this was like a Gakuen Alice take but with Sakura and Sasuke. Yes it is, I actually have had this idea for a while now. But trust me I am not continuing any Gakuen Alice plots. The first chapters are very similar to the anime, but I will not in any way take this down that same road. In fact, this chapter can prove that my plot is different from that of GA. I plan on changing A LOT. I have my own idea as to where I would like to take this whole story and it does not involve taking old plots from Gakuen Alice or future plots for that matter.**

* * *

Sakura ran into her home and locked herself in her room. The pinkette could only think about one thing. That kiss. It was her first kiss and she was disappointed that it was with someone she barely met. She didn't know anything about him other than his name and that was not enough for Sakura.

"Who does he think he is?" She muttered to herself and angrily got undressed, "It's okay, I will not approach him tomorrow. That slap across the face should have taught him a lesson." Sakura frowned as she wrapped a towel around her body. She needed a bath to relax, today's stress was too much.

"Uncle? Sheesh I don't have uncle's, I would know." Sakura laughed thinking how the kidnappers were getting so many facts wrong. With the knowledge they had, there's no way that they would have her fooled. As a cold breeze was felt, Sakura focused her eyes on the open front door. Why did grandma forget to close it? Sighing, she approaches the door and closes it softly.

"That should do i-AH!" Sakura suddenly finds herself of the floor and in pain.

"Ow." Sakura winces and picks up what she slipped on, "An envelope?" Turning the postcard size envelope around, her eyes spark with curiosity.

 _Sakura Haruno_

It was a handwritten note. In her own handwriting. She was intrigued, "When did I write this?" She made her way to the bath and ran the water while she cautiously opened the envelope.

 _Dear future Sakura,_

 _You are getting this letter because your Charlotte was made to react to a kiss by someone who possesses another Charlotte. It will take a while before you find it or it might not. Really, I am taking a longshot here. The reason I am sending this is because I want to warn you about_ _them_ _. This means that they have found you and you must not trust them. Your uncle released you without_ _them_ _knowing and has sent you far away from the organization. Please do not fall for the words that the people who found you say, the only one who knows the truth is Kuro Neko. I cannot tell you his identity in fear that it will distort time and change the future more than I already have. Sakura, do not go back to Konoha High. When you turn 17, you are to run away from home. Your grandmother will be safe as long as you let her know you are leaving. She will understand and go into hiding as planned._

"W-What is this?" Sakura put the letter down. This was all in her handwriting and that scared her. She didn't want to keep reading. Yet even so, she was curious.

 _Listen, your memories will return maybe not soon, but you will remember. Please understand the situation, and run away with Kuro Neko. He will take you to someone who will keep you safe. Sakura it is important that after you understand this letter, you wear a bun in public as soon as possible. This will indicate Kuro Neko that you are ready. Please make sure that you close your window tonight and double check that there is no one in your room. Pack a small back pack with three days' worth of clothes and take that to wherever it is that you will go in public with. Make it seem like you are unaware of them being imposters. Kuro Neko will explain everything to you when you both leave. Please trust him. Of all people, you can trust him._

 _P.S you are most likely doubting the validity of this letter, you have a birthmark on your right butt cheek and you refuse to tell anyone about it._

 _P.P.S If Kuro Neko does not insult your hair color, he is being controlled by them. If that is the case, please follow the map in this envelope alone._

The letter ends and Sakura stares ahead.

What did she just read?

* * *

The digital clock read **6:40 a.m** when Sakura awoke the next morning. She had two more hours to think about what she wanted to do. Yesterday, those men talked about her uncle and although she didn't remember such a family member, the letter she received mentioned him too. She thought about her birthmark which nobody knew was there because her undergarments would have to be removed in order for it to be visible and Sakura did not strip down in front of anyone. EVER.

"Kuro Neko?" Sakura stared at the ceiling and reached for the map that the letter had mentioned.

Opening it, she saw that there was an X marked near a lake two villages away from her village.

"How do I know who to trust?" She was worried, she didn't know if the letter was to be trusted either. Then it hit her.

She stood and packed her school bag with clothes. She knew how to find out the truth. As Sakura packed, she thought about what her actions would be in two hours. She had to be careful as to how she would go about her day. She changed into her uniform and headed towards the kitchen to make breakfast.

She wouldn't think about the letter too much. It was still too soon to believe the words written. She didn't understand them fully and so she shouldn't act too harshly. But the events that had been taking hold the last two days, left her with little choice. She couldn't think of another reason not to believe the letter. And so she had decided to wear her hair in a bun that day.

* * *

"Sakura!" Misori greeted as said girl sat at her desk.

"Hey, Misori." Sakura greeted and began to take her supplies out of her bag. As she was doing so, she noticed Sasuke sitting next to her. She glared at him before turning back to face Misori. She was still very angry and she knew she was being petty but he was a douche. So it didn't bother her too much.

"So I think today should be a nice day to visit the-"

Sakura found herself on the floor, gasping for air. She coughed continuously and began to look around the room. It was engulfed in smoke and debris. Her ears were still ringing and she began to feel a throbbing pain in her chest. That explosion had thrown her off and she was now frozen in place. Her eyes searched the room for Misori, although she had been in front of her just a few seconds ago. Now she was no where to be found.

"M-Misori!" Sakura called out and stood to walk out of the room. Everyone she was leaving behind, seemed to have no injuries. Although, she didn't know how she knew that. She shook the thought out of her head. She needed to find Misori.

"Hey there,"

Sakura was lifted by a pair of hands and she began struggling in the person's grip. He had a squared face, a very light complexion and red eyes. Very red. They made Sakura feel uncomfortable. That, and he seemed to be very fit.

"Let me go!" She yelled and threw a punch. He easily caught it and slapped her across the face.

"Stay still."

Sakura stayed quiet while being carried down the hall. She knew she couldn't fight the guy carrying her. He was too strong and she was very unskilled in any self-defense department. So she did the only thing she thought of doing. She pushed herself slightly up on his back and when he faced her, she spit into his eyes. And the moment his grip weakened, she pushed herself completely off of him. She quickly picked herself up from the floor and began to run towards the stairs. She ran down as fast as she could and although noticing the many injured students, continued to run. She was in danger and she could care less about the others. It sounds cynical, but would any one really risk their life at the moment? She was turning to run down another set of stairs when the guy suddenly appeared behind her and he gave her a good kick in the back. She ungracefully, rolled down the stairs and hit hard against the wall at the end. She tried to get up before he grabbed her by the collar and held her against the window. He smirked, "You'll be fine," Sakura suddenly found herself falling alongside the pieces of glass from the window. She had been thrown from the fifth floor. She held her breath, and everything around her went by slowly. She felt as if she was falling for hours, but really it was only seconds. She blinked and suddenly, he was carrying her. Sasuke Uchiha had saved her.

"Annoying." He muttered before landing on the floor with her in his arms. She only gripped his shirt tight and let her breath go. He didn't say anything before running into the woods.

* * *

"What do you mean he took her?" Minato paced around the room.

"Well if dumbass over here didn't try to kill her, Sasuke wouldn't have jumped to her rescue!" Naruto exclaimed and everyone groaned.

"Our plan failed, what do we do now?" Shikamaru asked.

"You find them. And get her alive."

* * *

Sakura stared Sasuke as he carried her through the mountains. He had saved her from dying just a few minutes ago and had told her to forget about Misori. She had of course, fought with him and wanted him to take her to Misori. But he had said she was safe and in no danger at all. He seemed to be very honest but Sakura knew he couldn't completely trust him.

"Are you going to speak?" Sakura asks the raven haired man. He doesn't make a move to show he acknowledged her. But before she could ask him again, he spoke.

"No."

"Where are you taking me?" Sakura asked and he only ignored her. She began to get frustrated and so she slapped him across the face. She was not going to take his shit at a very crucial moment like this. She had a broken ankle and quite possibly a broken arm. She was in a lot of pain and she needed answers.

"What the fuck?" He frowned down at her and she only frowned back.

"Give me answers. I was almost just killed by multiple people in a span of two days. I think I deserve some sort of explanation! I am being carried out of my village and leaving my grandmother behind! My only family! I'm scared and you are doing nothing to calm me down." Sakura began to cry and he only sighed.

"Your hair is ugly and that pastel color is horrifying."

Sakura stopped crying and understood. This was Kuro Neko. But now she felt uneasy again. He was with them, with Minato and the one's the letter told her to stay away from.

"The letter said you would explain-" He turned and frowned

"Stop talking until we leave the village completely." He stated and continued walking.

"Stop walking and listen to me!" She yelled desperately.

Emerald locked on with onyx.

"You listen to _me_. I do not plan on explaining anything until we are as far away from them as I can get you in five hours. You will follow me, because you want to. If you don't want to, then please be my guest and go get taken away by them." He seethed and Sakura was speechless.

"Please,continue on your way." Sakura said and Sasuke nodded.

* * *

Sakura was exhausted. They had been walking for hours now and had barely crossed the village border. During the hike, she stared at Sasuke trying to understand who he was. He had saved her, but also spoken very harshly to her. Was he truly someone to be trusted?

Sasuke stepped up on a nearby rock and suddenly, he was falling forward. Sakura braced herself for the impact, since she was still in his arms and would mostly brace his fall.

"A-Ah!" She braced for the impact but it never came. Instead, Sasuke had cocooned her in his arms and switched their positions so that he took the hit for her.

"S-Sasuke!" Sakura gently touched his cheek and he 'tch-ed'

"How bothersome. Let's keep going." He stated as he picked her up in his arms again and held her to his chest.

"We met when you turned eight." Sasuke suddenly said and Sakura listened closely, "You were obnoxious and believed every word Minato told you. You had been at Konoha High for three years by then and never once realized the truth behind any of it."

"Truth?" Sakura asked now completely focused on Sasuke's story.

"Konoha High doesn't keep you safe from the scientists. They _are_ the scientists." Sasuke's words were registered inside of Sakura's head and she did not know what to say.

"Nobody is born with a Charlotte. Konoha High mutated every single student living there in order to try and make the ultimate soldiers for war. You were one of them at a very young age, you don't remember it but you were tricked into the school. Some kids were donated and others were simply kidnapped."

"The reason that you are being hunted, is simple. You are an escapee. Your power of healing was wanted by the head scientist in Konoha High, you kept him young with your powers. You kept him alive. One day, you died in an accident at the school. You were thirteen." Sakura's eyes widened.

"I died. But how am I…"

"You were brought back to life by the medical nurses. But when you awakened, your Charlotte was gone. They experimented on you countless of times to try and get your power to return, but failed. You were deemed useless and sentenced to death. Your uncle of course did not let that happen and he secretly sent you away. You had your memories erased in order to keep you safe and sent as far away from Konoha as possible. Until now, when you have been found."

Sakura grasped Sasuke's shoulders roughly.

"How do you know any of this? And Minato said that I still have my Charlotte, didn't you say I lost it? I have noticed my healing power now as well." She was blabbering and he shook his head to motion her to be quiet.

"This is all I will tell you for now. Your uncle will be able to explain the rest. But I will tell you that I helped you write that letter. It was the day before you left, I snuck into your room to see you. And you told me all about your uncle's plan. You wrote the letter to yourself and I took it to one of our team mates. His name is Kakashi. He can copy and Charlotte he can get his hands on. This was how he was able to obtain the time travel Charlotte and send me to this time briefly to drop the letter off when I kissed you. And when I arrived back in time, you were gone." Sasuke explained, "Your uncle trusted me to help and since then, he has gone into hiding."

"I hear your voice sometimes." Sakura laid her head on his shoulder.

"I do happen to be speaking to you Sakura," Sasuke smirked and Sakura shook her head.

"From the past," She started and Sasuke came to a halt, "I hear your voice from the past."

"How do you know it's me and not someone else? You don't remember the past." Sasuke did not move an inch.

 _Sasuke held her tight. She cried into his chest and clutched onto his shirt tightly._

" _I don't want to leave you Sasuke! Come with me, please. My uncle can get us both out." She wept and Sasuke smiled softly._

" _I can't go Sakura. I have a better chance of protecting you if I stay. I have learned their secrets as well, and I will not let them control me. I will not let them make me forget you." He explained to the poor girl._

" _I'm scared. What if our plan doesn't go as planned?" Sakura pulled away from his embrace and looked into his eyes. Sasuke caressed her left cheek and wiped away her tears._

 _"I will find you. Wherever you are, I promise you I will find you and bring you back to me." He stated and leaned in slightly._

" _S-Sasuke?" She didn't move._

" _Pull away if you don't want me to." Sasuke whispered and lightly lifted her chin up and started to close the gap between them._

" _I love you Sasuke."_

 _His lips gently touched hers._

"You kept your promise. You found me again." Sakura smiled and Sasuke continued walking. Sakura knew that even a snippet of her past would not help her regain the feelings she once felt for this man or her old friends. But she knew that with every snippet, she would be closer to understanding the world around her much better. Sakura closed her eyes and started to drift away while feeling grateful to the man carrying her.

She was not able to see his face as the corners of his mouth curved upwards. He was happy.

* * *

 **Constructive criticism is welcomed. Until the next chapter!**


	4. Contract

When Sakura awoke, she was against a tree and the sun was rising and there were trees all around her. She was confused at her surroundings which caused her to panic. Had he left her? Was she finally alone and would she have to fend for herself?

"S-Sasuke!" She yelled and quickly got up. She had to run, she had a bad feeling in her stomach and she knew she had to run.

As Sakura found herself running through the trees and grass around her, she could only think about what Sasuke told her. Her uncle, the scientists, her death. How could this all have happened?

The ground under her right foot suddenly collapsed and she found herself rolling down the dirt and twigs.

"AH!" She landed hard against the floor and noticed her right arm was bleeding lightly. Scratches all around her arms.

"Damn it Sakura! What do you think you're doing?" Sasuke picked the girl up from the ground

"Sasuke?" Her emerald eyes focused on the collar of his shirt as he tried to get her to stand. A sharp pain suddenly travelled from her right ankle all the way up her body. She remembered that it was the ankle she had broken yesterday. She tried to keep a straight face, she couldn't slow him down.

"Don't try to hide things from me." Sasuke frowned and picked her up bridal style. Sakura's eyes widened and she quickly wrapped her hands around his neck.

"I don't like being carried. I run a greater risk of falling from someone's arms." Sakura pouted and she watched as the boy merely started walking back from where she ran from.

"Do you really think I'd drop you?" Sasuke asked in a very modulated voice, the girl in his arms almost didn't answer.

"I barely met you. I may remember bits and pieces, but I still cannot completely trust you." She stared at the ground. Sasuke didn't answer, he merely kept walking. Maybe she shouldn't have answered.

* * *

Unfortunately, Sakura still had no control over her healing ability and could not heal her ankle by herself. Sasuke stated that she would be healed by morning and he would just continue to carry her until their next stop. Of course, this made the rosette feel like a bother but did not argue.

"We can make it to the small village down there by nightfall, if we do this we can rest there and be at our destination by mid-day tomorrow. I have very little money, but it will be enough for one night" Sasuke showed Sakura the route he planned to take on the map he had drawn on the dirt and she nodded.

"Wouldn't we be able to skip the village and camp out farther out? We would make it to the destination late in the morning." Sakura suggested and Sasuke shook his head.

"It's best if we are not out too late. We would be at a disadvantage since I'm sure Minato and them have already started looking for us. They know my tactics and I would have done the very thing you just mentioned, therefore if we stay at the village we can buy ourselves a little more time." Sasuke said.

"Are you sure you want to carry me?" Sakura asked as Sasuke picked her up, once again in a very romantic way.

"Don't argue with me Sakura."

* * *

"Where could they have gone?" Minato wondered as he faced his boss. He new the man was not happy to have lost his priced possession once again.

"I believe that the boy might be working for the others sir." Shikamaru stated as he dropped a folder onto the boss's desk.

"You have until the sun sets to find them. Bring them to me."

* * *

"I'll take the couch." Sasuke stated as he placed Sakura on the bed of the small room they were provided.

"I can take the couch Sasuke, you've carried me all the way here. I want you to be able to get a good night's rest." Sakura smiled softly at the boy and he scoffed

"Don't be annoying."

Wait? What did he just call her? Sakura scowled at him.

"If I'm so annoying, why didn't you just leave me to be captured?" She stood and started limping towards the restroom. She was almost there, when she stumbled and Sasuke rushed over to catch her.

"You still haven't learned to ask for help." Sasuke smirked down at the girl in his arms and helped her into the restroom, "Let me know when you're done, I'll help you to the bed."

"Sasuke, if it isn't too much of a bother. I feel very disgusting and I am in desperate need of a shower." Sakura stated and Sasuke only raised his eyebrow.

"Okay, then do that."

"I need clothes Sasuke. If I shower and wear the same torn up, dirty, bloodied uniform, it defeats the purpose of the shower."

"Aa, I'll see what I can do."

Sakura closed the restroom door and carefully started a bath. She knew she had said 'shower', but her ankle was not yet healed and she wouldn't be able to stand very long.

* * *

As she laid in bed staring at the ceiling, Sakura thought about the memory she had just regained.

 _The man had shoulder length bright blue hair, although his eyes were covered, Sakura knew he was staring straight at her._

" _Why do you continue to argue with me Cherry Blossom?" His honeyed voice would have fooled Sakura if she didn't know what type of man she was dealing with._

" _Shut your trap, will you take my deal or not?" She growled_

" _So you want me to let Sasuke go?"_

" _I want you to terminate the contract. And I will give you my healing Charlotte, you would be able to live for years." Sakura stared at the man sitting behind the desk. She needed this to work, Sasuke needed to be set free._

" _And if I say no?" He grinned evilly. Sakura tsk'd in annoyance._

" _Reject my offer and find out." Her emerald eyes pierced through his soul. Although he would not admit it._

" _You have a deal, you will stay by my side forever in Sasuke's place. I shall terminate the contract tonight." He chuckled_

" _When I see that his mark has been removed, I will be sure to report to you right away."_

She wondered about the 'contract' and 'mark' that had been mentioned. Turning her head to look at Sasuke's sleeping form on the couch, she smiled. He wasn't so bad. He had gone out of his way to get her clothes and even to get her to safety.

* * *

Sasuke was awakened by the scream that his companion emitted.

"Sakura!" He frantically jumped on the bed and saw that she was sweating and her expression was that of pain and fear. Her eyes were not open and this meant she was having a nightmare. Sasuke did not know if he should wake her, but she kept thrashing around as if something was attacking her in her dreams.

"S-Sasuke" her voice was brittle and hoarse, "Help"

The raven haired boy got under the covers and wrapped his arms around her. He held her head to his chest and stroked her hair, "I'll protect you, Sakura."

Holding her, Sasuke realized just how much time had passed. Too much time. The last time he had seen her, her hair was shorter and they were the same height. Not to mention that she was feistier back then. But now, her hair was past her mid back, he was taller and she was fragile. Even holding her too tight made him believe she would break. Meeting her for the first time in four years made him satisfied, but even now he couldn't help but think that he could lose her once again.

His arms tightened around her body. He had to make sure he wasn't holding her in the morning, she would most likely not like it. But she was sleeping peacefully now and he wanted her in his arms a bit longer. Sasuke never showed her this much affection, not even back then. His pride would not let him show too much care for someone, but back when he first admitted his feelings to her. He knew she would always know he cared, even if he didn't show it.

* * *

"It's almost time for her to arrive is it not, my Lord?" A young maid set the tea down in front of her master.

"It's been four years already?" His piercing honey eyes sparkled with satisfaction.

"Yes it has." The maid answered and in turn received a smile

"Please be sure to cut that long hair of yours and look presentable for her arrival."

"Yes, my Lord."

* * *

Sakura awoke to the sound of the shower. She noticed the window was open and two small blue birds were perched on the window sill. She always saw birds back in her village, her grandmother would let her feed them and she would be out with them watching them be free with their wings. Something she wanted to be.

"Grandmother, I wonder how you are." Sakura moped as she inspected her ankle. It didn't seem to be hurting anymore.

"How's your ankle?" Sasuke emerged from the restroom in dark blue joggers that looked like a nice fit and easy to move in. Yet what Sakura was focused on was his naked upper body.

"S-Sasuke!" Sakura blushed and covered her eyes.

"Sakura, you're old enough to know what a man's chest looks like." Sasuke sighed and zipped up his sleeveless dark grey shirt.

Sasuke helped Sakura stand and motioned her to the restroom.

"You should shower and change into the new clothes while I get breakfast." He pointed at an outfit laid at the edge of the bed.

"Sasuke, I bathed yesterday night." Sakura only laughed.

"Then just go change. I will be back in ten minutes." Sasuke left the room.

Sakura simply did as she was told and thought about the person she would meet today. What would they be like? Would it be a man or a woman? Sasuke didn't specify if they were heading straight to her uncle. This made Sakura very curious.

"What will become of me?" She whispered softly and caressed her long hair. Sakura reached for the clothes she placed on the sink, everything in front of her started to blur and breathing became a difficult task. She wobbled back wards and tried to rub her eyes. It was useless, she still could not focus on one thing, she suddenly felt a pain in her chest and she lost her balance. The world around her went black.

"Sakura, you're taking too long." Sasuke called out as he sat on the bed. He had gone out to get oatmeal for the two to eat before heading out. Although he was surprised to find the restroom door still locked when he returned, he thought she would be out by now.

Sasuke thought about their next destination and how to travel from the village to such a place without it being too dangerous. He stood and walked over to the door. He knocked about three times and when receiving no answer, he kicked down the door.

"Sakura!"

Her unconscious body was sprawled on the floor, she was in her undergarments and on her left wrist purple marks were beginning to spread and Sasuke's eyes widened.

"You.." He stopped himself and quickly picked her up, "Sakura, you need to wake up!" He yelled while shaking her in the process.

The marks began engulfing her whole arm and spreading to her neck. Sasuke then realized what he had to do. He raised his hand and slapped her once, hard across the face.

"Sa...su..ke." Sakura called out weakly and Sasuke shook her lightly.

"Order me to stop the spread." Sasuke watched as she stared at him through lightly opened eyes.

"What?"

"Order me, damn it!" Sasuke yelled causing Sakura to be shaken up.

"I-I." She stared at the frantic looking boy holding her, "I order you to stop the spread." She was still watching as he suddenly closed his eyes.

"Yes, my Lady."

Her emerald eyes caught a glimpse of crimson red eyes before she lost consciousness once again, only feeling a sharp pain on her neck.

* * *

 **I am terribly sorry for being away so long, things came up but I am back and kicking! I have decided that I will be updating every Thursday, I live in Texas so it might be a different day for some of you. Alright until next week!**


	5. Do You?

_xxx This is the last chapter I decided to update, there is no need to re-read it. It has all basically stayed the same except for some changes to sentences I wanted to make._

* * *

"It's great to finally have you here Sasuke!"

Sakura stared at the man before her, his slicked back silver hair and honey colored eyes captivated her. She was taken back by his enthusiasm and felt out of place immediately.

"My Lady?" A maid with a darker complexion and shoulder length purple hair offered her a drink.

"Thank you." Sakura smiled softly as she picked the small glass up.

"Excuse me." The maid bowed and Sakura caught sight of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, are you wearing contacts?" Sakura asked and the maid shook her head, "That's weird, your eyes had a red hue to them just now. Must be my imagination then." Sakura sighed and the maid walked away.

Sakura had woken up in bed completely wrapped in sheets. She panicked realizing that she was still in her underwear underneath and yelled at Sasuke for even touching her in such a state. He merely shrugged her off saying he wouldn't leave her passed out on the floor. Apparently, she slipped and hit her head on the counter and was lucky that Sasuke had arrived at the room right when it happened.

Once Sakura dressed herself and ate breakfast, Sasuke suggested a route he was eyeing on a map he had 'borrowed' (Although Sakura was sure he had stolen it.) and Sakura agreed. It was the safest route to take compared to the others, yes it would be rough terrain but they would be able to make it through.

It seemed crazy to Sakura to be standing in this small house in the middle of nowhere, with a man she had met 4 days ago and an older man that she has been told is her uncle.

"Sakura, my dear" The man suddenly embraced her causing the girl to drop her drink.

"It would have made better sense to introduce yourself before hugging her." Sasuke stated while looking amused by Sakura's reaction. She was red and any one around could tell she was scared.

"Oh right!" The man stepped back and bowed, "I'm Lain. Your uncle." He smiled softly.

"I would introduce myself but it seems, you already know who I am." Sakura smiled back and went to pick up the glass.

"Oh dear no! Hannah can pick that up for you." Lain quickly took Sakura's hand and moved her to another room, "Please, sit."

Sakura looked around the new setting around her and found a small couch in the center and a fancy looking chair right in front of that. She sat down and Sasuke did so as well. Lain looked into Sakura's eyes from the seat he had chosen and gleamed.

"They've gotten greener since I last saw you!"

"I can't remember much. I didn't remember you." Sakura explained and Lain merely looked saddened.

"What has Sasuke told you about your situation?" Lain became serious within a matter of seconds and his enthusiasm was gone.

"He explained about the scientists, my healing Charlotte and my death." Sakura shivered at the last one.

"Alright so where can I start." Lain leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes.

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

" _What? She was just left out there?" Lain sighed and stared at the child sitting in his office._

" _Yes, it appears that she was abandoned." Minato began to move towards the girl but was stopped by men dressed in all black rushing in._

" _By orders of Konoha's Principal, we are here to take the child away. Here is the information regarding the parents and where you must send compensation." One spoke and handed Minato a paper with an address._

" _You are not taking her away, she was abandoned!" Lain stood and in return got guns pointed at him._

" _She was given to us, donated by her parents. Please do not interfere."_

" _H-Hey let go!" Sakura was grabbed roughly and started being dragged out of the room._

" _She is scared and unaware of what has happened, please have mercy!" Lain explained as he watched them take her out of the room completely ignoring his statement._

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

"I see, so my mother sold me." The girl clenched her hands

"Yes, Konoha High would give the families benefits if they would donate. Because of this, many families abandoned their children in the school. And forgot about them."

" _Sakura,"_

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

 _Said girl turned to face Lain and smiled, "Uncle! I thought you were out on a mission today?" She hugged him and he ruffled her hair._

" _You have your hair loose today and you're even wearing a little bit of lipstick. Everything good always happens when I'm gone doesn't it?" Lain laughed and Sakura merely fixed her hair while pouting._

" _Well, today is a special day. And you didn't answer my question."_

" _Oh right. I came back early, although I leave in about five minutes to another mission." Lain sighed and held his hand to his head in a disapproved manner._

" _Well next time you return, let's sneak out to the village and eat some dumplings!" Sakura suggested and Lain nodded_

" _Yes let's do that." He turned away from her, "Well I have to go Sakura, take care of yourself."_

" _Will do." Sakura sighed obviously discontent and jumped back when a small box was in front of her eyes._

" _Happy eighth birthday Sakura." Lain smiled._

" _Sakura Haruno, please come with us. The principal would like to see you." Men dressed in black gathered around them. Lain lightly pushed Sakura behind him._

" _On a special day like today, I would prefer if you all refrain from taking her to the principal." Lain said with a stern face._

" _You don't make the rules here Lain. She is to start her next treatment."_

" _Uncle!" Sakura yelled as they forcefully grabbed and pulled her away._

" _Let's go Sakura? I'll wait while they talk to you." Minato was suddenly behind her, gently grabbing on to her shoulders._

" _Will you hold my hand?" Sakura was terrified._

" _Of course, nothing bad will happen to you while I'm around Sakura."_

" _Minato, please. It's her birthday." Lain begged_

" _And the principal would like to congratulate her." Minato smiled and took her away._

 _Lain watched as they disappeared from view. He would be able to hear her screams if he went down the hall. Treatment was not pleasant. Once again, she would feel pain but remember none of it._

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

"Treatment was done multiple times. Of course, they would first test it against the child's blood before having it officially tested on the child itself. The only catch was, that a child can only contain one ability. They have tried to see if a child can hold more than one, but the subjects would fail." Lain looked down.

"So then they were left with one ability?" Sakura asked

"They were left life less." Sasuke answered and the room stayed quiet.

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

 _Sakura walked through the halls of the campus, closely studying the people around her. Nobody knew a single thing. They were all oblivious to what was happening._

" _Haruno!"_

 _Sakura wasted no time in running away from the voice. They knew she hadn't followed the rules the past couple of weeks. They knew she knew the truth. Or at least, some of it._

" _Get her with your Charlotte!"_

 _She turned the corner and suddenly found herself on the floor. Around her ankle, was a thick ice prison._

" _We got you now." He smiled down at her, his sea foam eyes full of hatred. He seemed satisfied to have gotten his prey, but the satisfaction was short lived for as soon as he stepped closer to her. His friends and he were engulfed in flames._

" _Sakura." Sasuke burned away the ice and both of them began to run._

" _Use your ice again Haku!"_

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

"There are certain pills everyone must take in order for their memories of the treatment to stay hidden. If you do not take the dosage your memories come in waves. Of course after a week's worth of dosages, you become a threat. The dosage must then be changed for you in order for it to work again, and you had neglected that rule." His honey eyes stared intently at her. Watching her reaction.

"So I was being hunted even before I escaped?" Sakura was understanding and beginning to remember bits of what her uncle was explaining.

"Yes, but you weren't being hunted to be killed. At least your death was an accident." Lain glared at the man sitting next to Sakura.

"So how was it that it was an accident?" The girl watched as Lain cringed at the memory but nevertheless, began to tell her.

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

" _Sasuke we're cornered!" Sakura exclaimed as they reached a dead end. She looked at the window in front of her and calculated that the height was too much and they would both break limbs or worse, die, if they tried to jump._

" _I'll burn them all to the ground then." Sasuke gritted._

" _You'll do what? I don't think one against three can make much of a difference Uchiha."_

" _You know damn well, that I of all people can take you on Gaara." Sasuke smirked._

" _Too bad you're already dead." Gaara smirked_

" _Cocky mu-!" Sasuke was cut off by a piece of ice going through his chest._

" _Sasuke!" Sakura ran to him but he signaled her to stay away._

" _You want to play dirty?" Sasuke wiped the blood from his lips and smiled evilly, "Sakura, call my real name."_

" _Sasuke, I'll go with them." Sakura cried as she watched him bleed._

" _Sakura I will not repeat myself."_

" _Your real name is Sasuke!" Sakura cried out_

" _We'll be taking her." Gaara stated as her picked her up._

" _Wait! I'll go with you. I won't fight. Just let me heal him. Please!" Sakura sobbed but was ignored._

 _Sasuke formed a symbol on the ground. It was a flame and an upside down star above it. Suddenly, he was engulfed in flames._

" _Let go of my woman." Sasuke muttered as he stood._

" _Take care of him Haku." Gaara chuckled._

" _LET HER GO!"_

 _Sasuke's body erupted flames all around them. One flame specifically aimed at Gaara's arm. This caused said man to drop his hostage._

" _Sasuke stop!" Sakura yelled but was ignored as Sasuke's flames only grew bigger. She quickly stood and started running towards him._

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**_

Sakura was shocked. She could only stare at Sasuke and his face that expressed pain.

"Sasuke's flame caused the building to fall. He grabbed you before you were both separated and upon falling, you protected him with your healing Charlotte. You channeled all of you Charlotte into his body so even if anything fell on him or the fall hurt him, he would heal. This cost you your life."

"So I died because of me protecting Sasuke." Sakura breathed.

"You died because of my stupidity." Sasuke stood abruptly.

"Wait Sasuke!" Sakura grabbed his hand causing him to look down at her, "I'm still here and kicking." Sakura smiled but Sasuke roughly pulled away.

"With no complete memories, you're basically a new Sakura. Not the Sakura I knew." Sasuke walked away.

"Please forgive him. For the way he's acting." Lain sighed,

"I don't understand him. I have memories of his voice, and I remembered him on the night that I left the Academy. But, I don't know what to think." Sakura stared at the door that Sasuke left through.

"Sasuke and you met at a very hard time in both your lives. He was kidnapped from his home, and you were being experimented on. He most likely shared things with you before and you not being able to remember, hurts him."

"How did Sasuke and I meet?" Sakura turned to face Lain and he shook his head.

"That's a story that only Sasuke can tell."

"How did I get my Charlotte back?" Sakura asked

"Well that's simple,"

* * *

Sasuke stared at the star filled sky. He clenched his fist at the memory of that day. He held her tight, shielding her from the debris and made sure that she fell on top of him. But although sustaining so much damage, he still opened his eyes and was well healed. He planned to escape at that moment but he noticed she wasn't breathing. The girl he loved was not alive and that caused him to freeze. He didn't move, not even when they separated them and cuffed him. He didn't resist.

"Sasuke?"

"Hannah." He answered without turning to look at her.

"Dinner will be ready in just a few moments. Please take a seat at the table now." She bowed and turned to leave.

"Sakura noticed your eyes change." Sasuke stated. "Don't let it happen again."

"I don't plan to." Hannah took her leave.

The boy simply stayed seated and watched a shooting star cross the sky. He realized that she had gotten near him and sat next to him to watch the sky as well. She didn't say anything. All she did was touch his hand with her pinky and ring finger, letting them lay on top of his hand.

"Do you still love me?" Sakura asked and Sasuke's eyes widened for a split second.

"What?"

"That was a stupid question. I apologize." Sakura stood and began to walk away

"Yes."

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. He had actually answered her.

"You're still annoying, and that is enough for me to continue to care." Sasuke said and Sakura smiled.

"I like your hair." Sakura stuck out a hand towards him to help him stand. Sasuke smirked and accepted her help.

"That's what you said to me when we first met."

* * *

 **So I was excited and decided to release this chapter early. Maybe I'll release the next one early too? Let me know how you like it**

 **(:**


	6. Encounter

**A/N IMPORTANT! Before you go any further, be sure to know that this chapter is set in the past. Sakura is 8 years old.**

* * *

"You know; your hair looks nice today. But why don't you move your bangs away? They cover your eyes a bit." Minato lifted the bangs off of Sakura's face and she blushed.

"They all make fun of me for it." She whispered and they walked in silence.

"Minato, when will I be able to see my mom again?" The girl held Minato's hand down the hallway. She had just returned from speaking to the principal, which she didn't remember. She never remembers.

"I think tomorrow might be the day, Little Miss." Minato smiled and they both started descending down stairs.

"Minato," Sakura stopped walking and he stared at her, he was confused at her actions and the slight trembling she was producing, "I feel cold and sense a big presence." Minato's eyes widened. She _sensed_? He had to run tests on her, she may have obtained an ability. Finally, in the three years she had been here!

"You must just be tired, Little Miss." Minato pulled her along but was soon stopped by the men in all black.

"Minato-san, we have obtained the subject." They then dropped a boy down in front of Sakura and Minato. Sakura, startled by the rough handling, quickly hid behind Minato and stared at the young boy. He seemed about her age, and was unconscious. His dark raven hair was messy but still contained slight spiky-ness to it. His body showed signs of slight burns and his obvious resistance to the men in black.

Nobody ever fought back against the men in black. They knew better. The men were highly skilled and knew how to control their Charlotte perfectly and this caused them to be extremely powerful. Sakura couldn't take her eyes off of the boy. His pale skin looked so smooth and she wanted to touch it. She wanted to touch _him_ , she wanted to make sure he was okay. She reached her hand out slightly as if wanting to grab him but quickly retreated her hand and backed away from everyone. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and her face showed distress.

"Sakura?" Minato turned to face her and she quickly shook her head.

"I'm tired, can I go to my room now?" She smiled

"I'll walk you there." Minato nodded and picked up the boy. Sakura stared at the process and stuck her hand out slightly again. Maybe it was just her fatigue? She realized that her hand in front of her looked weird to the others and so she put it down. She sighed and lightly slapped her cheeks a couple of times.

In front of her room, Sakura bid her farewells to Minato and stared at the boy one last time. She didn't see him breathing and this began to worry her.

"He's fine Sakura, he might just be a little exhausted since it does appear he fought them back." Minato signaled towards the boy and smiled, "I'll make sure he's fine." Sakura nodded.

"It's his rib and right lung. You don't have much-" Sakura stopped herself and watched as Minato's eyes widened.

"You can see what's wrong with him?" Minato asked but Sakura shook her head.

"Go fix him before you ask questions!" She turned and shut her door behind her. She breathed heavily.

How did she see what was inside of him? She saw the exact problem, and she didn't know how she did it. Minato had always told her that she would awaken her Charlotte as time passed, for Charlotte's only appeared in a time when they are reaching maturity.

* * *

"She was right about the rib and the lung. She specified the right lung as well and turned out to be correct." Minato explained and watched as the chair turned around and he faced the man sitting in it.

"We used formulas from dead skin cells and the skin cells of starfish. Please do run tests on her and see what you can get." His golden eyes gleamed with joy.

"Yes Orochimaru-sama."

* * *

Sakura made her way through the crowd of students in the halls and into the cafeteria. She walked up to the sweets shop and took a pumpkin filled bread. She began to eat it as she walked back out of the place. She couldn't stop thinking about that experience she had earlier, she actually saw within that boy. Suddenly she was on the floor.

"Ouch," She groaned and looked up to her obstacle.

"Watch where you're going kid." It was a man in black and he was holding the boy over his shoulders.

"Why do you have him tied up?" Sakura accidentally blurted out and quickly put her head down. She talked back. She would be punished.

"Sakura come with me." Minato held the man's hand in midair. The man was aiming to strike the young girl but Minato had come to her rescue.

"Let's go speak in private, Little Miss." Minato smiled

"Okay." Sakura took hold of his hand, "but can you untie him first? His wrist will fracture if it is kept like that any longer." Sakura pointed at the boy.

Jade met onyx.

"We can't untie him now that he's awake Minato." The man in black stated. And Minato nodded.

"Let's just reposition his hands then,"

"Ugly hair."

Sakura turned to the boy that was glaring at her. He had just directed that insult towards her didn't he? She stepped back.

"Yea, step back if you know what's good for you." He muttered and scowled at the people around him.

Sakura stared as they placed the boy back onto the man in black's shoulder. She got closer and reached her hand out to his hair. His eyes widened and he tried to get away from her touch, but failed. She stroked a small portion of hair and smiled.

"I like your hair." She stroked it once more before disappearing with Minato, leaving the boy baffled.

* * *

"Sakura I have to check something okay." The blonde man placed his hand on her forehead and closed his eyes. Sakura just stared in silence until he was done.

"Well?" Minato approached the blonde and raised his eyebrow.

"Let me just show you." The man turned back to Sakura and gave a weak smile, "This won't hurt for too long okay?" He ran a small black across her hand. Sakura winced and watched the crimson liquid start to spill out slowly. But just as it began, a small turquoise highlight began to form around the wound. At first look, it was hard to see but once it was noticed, you could not bypass it. Sakura's eyes brightened up.

"Is this my Charlotte?" She smiled up at Minato waiting for an answer.

"Yes, it is. For the first time in many years. A healing Charlotte." Minato was in awe.

"She was able to sense exactly what was wrong with the boy because of this power, therefore if she can learn to control it. She might be an amazing asset."

"Inoichi, she sensed him as well." Minato put on a stern face and Inoichi frowned

"Sensed? Do you mean his presence?"

"Sakura, let's take you back to your room. We'll talk tomorrow okay?" Minato smiled and took his leave with the young girl.

"Isn't this great? I finally have my Charlotte!" Sakura grinned and her eyes were sparkling with excitement. She couldn't wait to learn about her Charlotte and begin using it. Yesterday, she had turned eight but today, she felt empowered.

* * *

"Class this is our new student, please treat her well." Minato motioned Sakura to introduce herself, which caused her to become a nervous wreck. She fidgeted with the hair in front of her face before jumping up and yelling out,

"My name is Haruno Sakura, cha!" She quickly realized her outburst and covered her mouth.

"We need to get you a partner then." Minato scanned the room and frowned, "Maybe later." He motioned her to sit and she was faced with a different problem. Where would she sit? She began to roam the class room and decided she would sit on the empty desk at the very end. Konoha High had two types of classes. Classes for the un-awakened Charlotte children and those for the awakened users. Sakura had just been transferred to the awakened class and was to begin learning basics on how to control it. But she knew no one. Plus, she would have a new dorm by the end of today in the awakened users wing. Yes, much of this was too much for her tiny brain to process but she was excited for the changes that would begin to take place.

Sakura was in deep thought when she began to feel light pulling on her hair. A girl with big cerulean eyes stared back at her.

"Why do you have ugly pastel hair?" She snorted and pulled harshly

"H-Hey let go!" Sakura slapped the girls hand away and turned back to her notebook.

"You did not just slap me. Who do you think you are girl!" The girl pushed Sakura to the ground and laughed.

"Ino, would you like to stay after class to clean the board?" Minato reprimanded and Ino quickly sat at her desk and shook her head.

"She started it!" Sakura slowly stood and watched the faces of the students as they whispered around.

"Did you see her huge forehead? No wonder her bangs covered it!"

"What ugly color of hair."

"She's so ugly. I mean who would pair that color of hair with green. Such a weird combination."

"Why is she even here?"

"All of you settle down!" Minato yelled and watched as Sakura quickly placed her bangs above her forehead once again.

"S-Sorry for the disturbance!" She bowed and sat back down. Her eyes began holding back the tears that were begging to fall. Once again, she was a fool.

"Um, sensei. There's a pencil lodged in her arm." A boy next to Sakura shakily said and her eyes widened. How could she not have noticed? She reached for it and the boy cringed.

"Wait Sakura don't!" Minato ran up to her and quickly covered her arm.

"Minato-sensei, I was just.." She trailed off and stared at the object once again. Her whole body tingled and she finally understood, "OH MY GOSH THERE'S A PENCIL STUCK IN MY ARM!" She pushed Minato off and pulled the object out. Blood began to come from the wound and Sakura gripped the wound. Just then, her hand began to glow slightly and Minato placed his coat over her.

"I will be taking her to the nurse. Please remain in the class until I have returned." He and Sakura disappeared in a yellow flash.

The class was left speechless at what had just happened. One minute she was apologizing and the next, she had a pencil in her arm.

The boy sitting behind her though, witnessed the whole ordeal. From Ino picking on her, to the pencil being lodged into her arm and of course, the turquoise light that she emitted from her hand. He had seen her the day before.

" _I like your hair."_

She annoyed him.

* * *

"What's your Charlotte?" Someone demanded but Sakura merely kept her head down.

" _Now Sakura, do not let them see you use your Charlotte. You are not obligated to tell the class."_

Minato had said she didn't have to. She wanted to tell them, she was proud of her gift but by the way he was looking at her, it seemed like he didn't want her sharing her gift.

"Hey listen to us!" The kid raised a hand and began to bring it down but his wrist was grabbed by another person.

"Back off." His dark eyes glared at those around the girl and they all ran off in fear.

"You're that boy." She looked up at him, or at least he thought she did. He couldn't really tell with those bangs in the way.

"Hn." The boy started walking back to his seat.

"Oh Sasuke made interactions with someone that isn't Naruto!" Minato smiled at the boy, "Well then, how would you like Sakura as your partner? Since you have been a single player for a while."

"Tch. I don't need annoyances near me." Sasuke glared at the teacher.

Sakura just shrunk into her seat and was wishing to disappear. Nobody wanted her here. Even the kid didn't want her as his partner. She thought her first partner would be amazing. They would be friends and help each other with their Charlottes. They would pass tests together and get through the year together. That's what partners were supposed to do. But he seemed off and cold.

Minato dismissed the class for the day and began cleaning the board. Sakura was ready to leave.

"Hey, pinky." Behind her, Sasuke picked her up from her seat by her shirt.

"Rude!" Sakura called out and he shrugged.

"Resign as my partner."

Sakura's eyes widened. What?

* * *

And she did. It had been two months since Sakura resigned as Sasuke's partner and she began excelling in the academics. From basic subjects all the way to training. She kept to herself however, in fear that she would be made a fool of again. At the moment, she was in training ground 3 with a sliced wrist. Minato had explained that if she tried hard and focused, she could heal herself faster and others as well. All she needed to practice was manipulating her power from her body into her palm and onto the wound. If she focused on the task at hand, which was to heal, she would be able to do so. It was hard to control it. For she realized that her Charlotte was more intent on healing her own body from the inside rather than being emitted from her palm.

She stood and walked towards the cafeteria. She needed food in her system, she had been practicing during all of her free time. She passed by the principal's office and realized that she hadn't been called in for quite some time. She wondered why but quickly shrugged it off at the smell of her favorite bread.

"Hey you're Sakura right?" A boy that looked like a tiny version of Minato approached her.

"Yes." She fidgeted with her bangs making sure her forehead didn't show.

"I'm Naruto, nice to meet ya!" He grinned and stuck out his hand, "I've been sick for a couple of months and just came back. It's been tough, but I heard we got a new student and I was dying to meet you!" Sakura shyly took his hand and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you. It seems that your stomach is still ill?" Sakura mentally reprimanded herself. She shouldn't have said that out loud.

"What, how did you know?" Naruto grinned sheepishly,

"Hey don't mess with me Uchiha!"

Sakura and Naruto turned to the chaos that erupted in the middle of the cafeteria. A boy with long blue hair was standing above Sasuke who was on the floor holding his bleeding arm.

"My nails will cut through anything, even you tough boy." The boy laughed and Sasuke smirked.

"Sure they can cut." Sasuke started, "But can they extinguish?" Suddenly the boy's right arm was in flames.

"Sasuke stop!" Naruto ran to the injured Sasuke and tackled him. The flames disappeared and the blue haired boy ran away.

"Jeesh Sasuke, look at what you get yourself into. Sakura help me take him to the nurse will ya?" Naruto picked Sasuke up and Sakura nodded.

"He's always getting into battles, it's not cool Sasuke." Naruto began fighting with Sasuke while Sakura only focused on Sasuke's wound. It wasn't too deep and nothing else seemed to be wrong with him.

"I don't need to be reprimanded by you." Sasuke frowned and pushed Naruto off, "And I can walk on my own." They walked in silence before Sakura noticed there was no one near them and they were out of view from the public.

"I'd like to try something." She stated and Naruto raised his eyebrow.

"What is it Sakura-chan?"

"Sasuke, may I see your injury?" Sakura asked cautiously reaching for his arm.

"Get away from me." Sasuke began walking.

"Get back here you little!" Naruto tackled Sasuke to the ground and held Sasuke's injured arm out, "There, try it Sakura-chan!"

Sakura sweatdropped but grabbed hold of the arm and placed her palm over the wound.

Focusing her power onto her palm she closed her eyes and began to imagine Sasuke's arm completely healed. She felt her body try to fight it but Sakura was only focusing on the wound.

"Woah." Naruto gasped as he watched his new friend.

Sasuke's eyes were captivated by the turquoise light emitting from her palms and even more so, into the wound. He stared at her face and saw that she was calm. From the angle he was in, he could see it. Her face. Her eyes were closed, but he knew their color already. A bright green. Emerald even. He had seen them when he first met her in the halls.

The glowing stopped and Sakura gulped. She slowly removed her palm and her eyes beamed.

"It healed!" She exclaimed and smiled brightly.

"Wow Sakura-chan I didn't know you could do that!" Naruto laughed and Sasuke merely touched around where the incision used to be.

"Your Charlotte." The Uchiha spoke, "what is it."

Sakura began to wonder if she should specify. But knew they had seen her heal him and therefore she would be able to tell them. Right?

"Healing Charlotte. It's hard to control it to do exactly what I want. You were my first success." She explained and Sasuke merely listened.

"Healing? That's so awesome I haven't heard about it. You're unique Sakura-chan."

"Aa." Sasuke stood and walked away from both of them.

"H-Hey! We have to train, wait for me!" Naruto stood and waved goodbye to Sakura before running after his friend.

* * *

 **I decided that I just wanted to get this chapter out of the way. This is Sakura's first encounter with Sasuke and so on. The next chapter will be set in the present time and we will continue on from there. Okay, until next time!**


	7. Say My Name

It had been two days since Sakura had found herself in the home of her uncle. They had spoken of many things, such as Sakura's childhood. This was very important to Sakura for she felt as if a part of her was missing, just like the memories. Sasuke mostly went out and walked through the woods. He claimed he was being distant because he needed to make sure that they weren't followed by Minato and his men, but Lain knew he just didn't want to get close to Sakura. After having that conversation with the boy, he was glad that Sasuke listened to his instructions.

Flashback

 _Lain led Sakura to the room she would be staying in. He explained that he would talk to her in the morning about where they would go from this check point._

" _Have a goodnight Sakura, I look forward to having you stay with us." He smiled and closed the door behind him. He began making his way down the hall and outside._

" _I brought her to you, now what?" Sasuke stood beside the door Lain had just exited from. He stared intently at the man._

" _Now, we keep her safe." Lain began, "And to keep her safe, we must keep certain people away." Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the man._

" _You live in the middle of nowhere, only four people are present in this house. Who else could you possibly want to keep away?" Sasuke sighed but his eyes snapped open when he realized exactly what Lain meant._

" _You must leave Sasuke. She will be in danger with you around."_

" _I'm not leaving." Sasuke growled and Lain smiled at the young boy._

" _Her Charlotte might want to inhabit your body once more. You know this," Lain shook his head, "If that were to happen, her life source would be weakened enough for them to truly end her life."_

" _They want her because they know she has her Charlotte back!" Sasuke yelled and Lain placed a finger above his own lips._

" _Shush Sasuke, we don't want her to hear us." Lain walked towards a large Oak tree and sat right under it._

" _As long as she doesn't heal me, her Charlotte will not try to slip into my body." Sasuke said as he walked and stood in front of Lain._

" _But if something were to happen to you, you know she'd be quick to try." Lain looked up at the determined boy who was frowning down upon him._

" _Let me be by her side, longer." Sasuke turned his back on Lain and began to walk back inside the home._

" _I still don't want you staying too long." Lain called out._

End

Lain was satisfied with the results of his talk with the boy. He wanted Sakura safe after all, so he wouldn't go against Lain's wishes.

Sakura though, did not like the distance between Sasuke and herself. He was someone she came to trust, and someone she had known longer than Hannah and Lain. She didn't feel at ease with him gone all the time. She wanted to talk to him about anything in the world, as long as they would become friends. But he seemed to be avoiding her since he admitted his feelings and this made her feel sad.

"Sakura,"

God had answered her prayers.

"Sasuke!" Sakura smiled and turned around quickly to smile at him. Except, there was no one behind her. The hallway was empty. She stepped back slightly and bumped into something.

"Tsk. Sakura you really shouldn't try to walk backwards. You're horrible at it." Sasuke smirked and turned Sakura to face him.

"Where have you been?" Sakura asked

"I've been here the whole time." Sasuke answered and this caused Sakura to feel uneasy.

"Not since breakfast time. You always leave now, where do you go?" Sakura once again began to question him. He frowned.

"Where I go is none of your business." He had a certain sharpness to his tone which caused Sakura to flinch slightly.

"Right, okay. Well goodbye." She was hurt, his words were laced with irritation and she didn't like it. Sakura turned and began to walk towards her room. She would have to make a left at the end of the current hall and then make a right, at the end of the next.

"I wasn't done talking to you." Sasuke grabbed her wrist tightly.

"You seemed to be in a bad mood." Sakura stared at the floor.

"You put me in that mood. You shouldn't ask so many questions." Sasuke tsk'd

"Let go of my hand if you want to talk." Sakura said and he did so.

"Let's talk about your Charlotte." Sasuke stated and Sakura raised her brow at him.

"What is there to talk about?" She didn't understand why he suddenly asked her about a power she had only known about for a week now.

"I think you should speak to Lain about that." Sakura suggested and watched as Sasuke shook his head.

"I want to hear it from you." Sasuke pulled Sakura into his arms and held her at his chest. Sakura breathed in his scent. It smelled divine. Was he wearing perfume? Vanilla scented?

"W-Want to hear what?" Sakura began to blush.

"Tell me why you regained your Charlotte." Sasuke chuckled and ran his hands through her long pink hair.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But first," Sakura pushed away from Sasuke softly and smiled, "Tell me the story of how we first met." She giggled and watched as Sasuke furrowed his brows.

"Sakura, I think my subject is more important than how we first met." He shook his head in a joking matter. His eyes widened at the sound of footsteps and Sakura merely cocked her head at his reaction.

"Sasuke?"

"I got to go. We'll continue this conversation-" Sasuke began to back away and Sakura's eyes widened

"You won't get to. I can just incinerate you where you stand." Another Sasuke appeared behind the Sasuke that Sakura had been speaking to. Needless to say, the young girl was speechless and confused.

"S-Sasuke?" She stared at both boys standing in front of her and backed away.

"I knew we had an imposter here." Lain spoke up from the end of the hall behind Sakura.

"Careful there, pretty boy." One of the Sasuke's began to morph into a different appearance, "I have already tied strings around your precious lover's neck, I can slice off her neck in a sweet clean cut." With a simple move of the imposter's middle and index finger, Sakura found strands of thin, sharp wire wrapped around her neck. They wrapped around her skin tightly and began to draw blood.

"Sakura!" Sasuke called out and started a flame in his hand.

"Drop it, or I kill her." The imposter threatened and Sasuke, hesitantly, did as told.

The imposter's form began to return and Sakura could barely catch sight of the figure. But she knew those eyes anywhere.

"M-Misori?" Sakura choked out and the girl in front of her laughed.

"My name is Kana, Misori is such an ugly name. It never did fit me, but you ate it right up didn't you?" Kana stuck out her tongue at Lain, "Finders keepers!"

Sakura found herself picked up by Kana and encased in a cocoon of wires.

"SASUKE!" Sakura yelled and in turn was knocked out by her kidnapper.

"Try and find her!" Kana laughed as the cocoon disappeared. With both inhabitants in it.

"Sakura!" Sasuke gritted his teeth and slammed his fist into the wall.

"We have to find her!" Lain panicked and grabbed Sasuke by the shoulders, "Please Sasuke, we have to go get her!" Sasuke slapped the man's hands off and glared straight into his eyes.

"This would have never happened if you would have let me stay close to her." He then turned on his heel and ran down the halls and into the wilderness. Lain could only fall on his knees and cry.

* * *

Rock. Rocks were all Sakura saw when she opened her eyes. The back of her neck was extremely sore and she could not move an inch.

"Awake now?" The voice spoke from her right side and Sakura didn't need to look to know who she would be speaking to.

"Misori, why did you take me?" Sakura asked. Her wounds having healed themselves in the time she was unconscious.

"You don't get to ask the questions here Sakura." Kana scoffed, "My name is Kana, not Misori. And I am not your friend. That was one of my mere roles."

"You're a stranger to me. Why would you betray me!" Sakura yelled and in turn the wires holding her, tightened and held her down.

"No sudden movements Sakura, you might just loose a finger or two. Maybe even a limb." Kana chuckled and made her way to sit next to her hostage.

Sakura could see her capturer perfectly now. Kana's complexion differed greatly from the friend that Sakura remembered, Kana was darker. Sakura noticed that her hair was also much shorter and reached her shoulders instead of her mid-back like Misori's hair did. Her facial features had changed as well, her nose was a bit pointy and chin was more defined than what Sakura remembered. But her hazelnut colored eyes were very much the same and Sakura knew that this was who she once called her best friend.

"Let's make this easy. You will tell me how you got your Charlotte back, and I will kill you so that Minato and his pests don't capture you. Deal?" Kana caressed Sakura's right cheek and Sakura glared.

"Why are you doing this?" Sakura could not understand why this was happening to her. Kana merely shrugged.

"I have my reasons, but since you aren't playing along with me. I guess I'll just have to force you to." Kana growled at the word 'force' and moved her index finger.

Sakura felt the wire around her wrists begin to tighten at a fast rate and began to dig into her skin. She hissed at the sudden pain but merely clenched her fists. Kana then took out a small pocket knife and leaned into Sakura's ear.

"Are you going to play along now?" Her voice sent shivers down Sakura's spine, but the hostage shook her head in response, "Oh what a shame." Kana then stabbed Sakura in the thigh, not once moving from her position next to Sakura's ear.

"A-AAH!" Sakura yelled in pain. Kana did not remove the knife from where she had inflicted the wound.

"Did you ever know I was a masochist?" Kana then licked the tip of Sakura's earlobe.

"S-Stop!" Sakura jolted slightly upward causing the threads to dig into her skin through her clothes. Sakura laid breathless bleeding from multiple areas on her upper body and her shirt ripped in those places.

"Oh dear, your cute black bra is going to get ripped." Kana pouted and placed her knife at the center of Sakura's chest, "How about we make sure that doesn't happen?" The knife went under the center of the bra that separated the two cups. Sakura began to panic, she didn't want her chest exposed.

"W-Wait! I thought you didn't want it to be damaged." Sakura blurted out and Kana raised her eyebrow and retreated the knife.

"You're right, it would be a shame." Kana began to think and her face brightened when she got an idea, "I got it, how about I just help you." She smiled down at Sakura.

In that smile, Sakura found comfort in the eyes of her best friend. She was so relieved to hear those words come from her mouth. Kana wrapped her arms around Sakura and made sure to move the strings along with her, so they wouldn't injure anyone. Sakura let a tear fall, she was safe.

"There, all done" Kana suddenly chimed and raised up the piece of fabric. It was Sakura's bra.

Sakura was speechless as she was roughly slammed back down and the strings cut into her flesh once again. She laid lifelessly, her wounds not even phasing her. Kana frowned,

"Are you crying?" Kana sighed, "Hm, no fun." She sliced across Sakura's stomach, the wound was not too deep. Kana wanted to have more fun with her prey, "So I ask again, how did you get your Charlotte back?"

Sakura didn't answer, she merely cried harder. She wanted Misori. Not this person causing her to hurt. "Just kill me!" Sakura cried out and struggled against the threads around her wrists and legs. She caused herself more injuries and Kana's eyes widened.

"H-Hey stop that, you'll cut off a wrist!" Kana yelled and she quickly loosened the strings enough so that Sakura wasn't hurting herself.

"Just fucking kill me!" Sakura yelled and was about to keep yelling, but Kana wrapped a string around Sakura's neck.

"You want to die?" Kana approached Sakura and leaned into her ear once again, "Fine, I'll grant you your wish." Kana then mercilessly stabbed Sakura in her stomach. She began to suck on Sakura's neck making sure to leave a mark. She threw the knife to the side and rubbed her bare hand over the wound. Once her hand was soaked in the crimson fluid, Kana roamed Sakura's body.

As the events were taking place, Sakura lay non-moving. Her eyes focused on one pointed rock above her. She figured they were in a cave. Where this cave was? Sakura did not know. She felt Kana sucking on her neck, something she didn't really mind. She didn't mind anything anymore. She knew she was going to die. Sakura's eyes began to well up tears again. Sakura was scared. A few minutes ago, she was in a house with her uncle and the boy who saved her. The boy that promised to keep her safe. Where was he?

"S-Sasuke" Sakura croaked out but Kana didn't seem to hear.

Where was he?! He said he would find her. He said he wouldn't give up until he found her! So where was he? Sakura was angry. She hated being lied to. She snapped her eyes shut and began to whimper.

"What are you thinking about dear?" Kana asked

Sakura didn't answer.

 _ **Say my real name.**_

Sakura's eyes snapped open in shock. That voice. She desperately looked around the room. There was no one there.

 _ **Say it!**_

Sakura's heart stopped. She didn't understand what was happening to her. She began to think it was the loss of blood. She was starting to slip into a different realm. Her eyes began to close and she thought about drifting away.

"Sakura! Say something!" She heard a voice yell and she knew that it was Kana.

"A-Ado.." Sakura found herself coughing up blood. She fell back and stared at a panicked woman on top of her, "Adora" Sakura whispered. And she saw as Kana was pushed into the wall by a fire ball. She felt the strings loosen up.

* * *

 **I uploaded this super late. I'm sorry! I will be uploading another chapter tomorrow around mid-day so be sure to check in for the update! (: I'll talk to you all tomorrow!**


	8. Stay

Sakura's struggled to keep consciousness. She saw as Kana was forced off of her body by a flame. Kana hit the cave wall and fell to the ground. Sakura felt the strings around her body loosen completely, but she could not move. The wounds inflicted on her stomach and thigh, still bled.

"Sakura." The boy stared down at her, his voice showed concern for the girl. He moved a strand of hair away from her face and left his hand on her left cheek. He then noticed her injuries and above all, he noticed her lack of top garments. His eyebrows furrowed together as he unzipped his grey shirt. He carefully covered her upper body with it and studied the young girl once more. Anger clouded over his features and he turned his attention to the woman he had attacked.

"You." He growled as he raised his hand, "I'm going to burn you alive." He began to form flames in his hand, Kana could only panic in place. When hitting the wall, her right leg had snapped and now she was left defenseless.

"W-Wait, I can tell you where they reside! I can tell you what Orochimaru plans to do!" Kana yelled for her life. Sasuke merely scowled at her.

"I don't care. You hurt my woman. That," Sasuke looked down at the injured Sakura who didn't take her half lidded eyes away from him, "I don't forgive." Flames engulfed Kana and she began to scream in pain.

"Stop." Sakura began to cry, "Don't.. Don't kill her." She weakly lifted her right hand and touched Sasuke side, "Please."

Sasuke's eyes widened at her plead. How could she want this woman to live? She had defiled Sakura and still, Sakura wanted her alive? Sasuke did not stop his attack. He was angry. He was not going to let Kana live.

"Sasuke." Sakura cried once again and Sasuke could only shut his eyes in frustration.

"Damn it all." He cursed and extinguished the flames. Kana lay on the floor, she was burned extremely, but alive nonetheless. At this point, she would have rather been dead. Now she laid there, feeling every single pain on her charred body.

Sasuke opened his eyes to stare down at Sakura who was struggling to breathe. He gently lifted her upper body and dressed her with the shirt he had used to cover her up. Sasuke stared down at the girl and softly embraced her.

"You came." She said weakly and he nodded.

"I did." He looked over her wounds and was relieved to see the turquoise light begin to pour out. But the deeper wounds needed to be healed quickly, "Sakura,"

"Yes?"

He picked her up bridal style, "Let's go." He watched Kana's body twitch.

"I can heal her." Sakura stated and Sasuke looked at her in shock.

"No." He frowned and Sakura merely held her hand out, as if trying to reach Kana.

"Sakura," Sasuke ran towards the exit of the cave and into the wilderness, "I said no."

"Sasuke why!" Sakura cried as she was forcefully taken away.

"Her friends are nearby already. They won't let her die. There's no need for you to risk your life by saving hers." He explained and kept running through the trees.

Sakura could only cry. She was worried about Kana. She was, after all, once her best friend. She couldn't just leave her to die. Sakura stared at the man carrying her. His defined jaw looked so soft in the moonlight. And his hair flowed softly in the wind, she wanted to reach out and run her fingers through it. She looked at his eyes wanting to drown in their darkness. Except, they weren't dark. They were a bright red. She could only stare at their bright color, she felt as if she would burn if she would ever try to drown in them.

"Let's stop here." Sasuke called out and walked into the small village he had found. He walked towards an inn and got a room.

He placed Sakura on the bed and closed the window blinds. He didn't need anyone looking into the room to find them. He looked over the room and found that it was quite small. Of course, he didn't mind since they wouldn't stay longer than tonight.

"You're healing quite well. Although, your stomach wound might not heal until another day." Sasuke commented as he took off his blue sash (The one he wears around his head) and wrapped it tightly above her thigh. This would slow down the bleeding, making it easier for Sakura to heal.

"Thank you." Sakura whispered while looking at him intently. His eyes had not reverted to their usual color, and she noticed he hadn't stopped looking at her. Most importantly, he hadn't stopped looking at her with a pained expression. She didn't understand why he tried to suppress that emotion, but she could still see it in his eyes. He was hurt.

"Sasuke," Sakura started and he only blinked in response, "Why are your eyes red?" She noticed his eyes widening for a split second but he merely closed his eyes and when he opened them, they were back to being onyx.

"Let's not talk about that."

"I once remembered telling someone to break their contract with you. What contract?" She began to pester and he was getting cornered.

"Sakura, let it go."

"No. I want answers. Why have you been gone? I don't like having to trust you and you suddenly leave me alone in a house full of strangers. I spent days with you and came to enjoy your company! I don't know why you think it's okay to leave me with strangers. Because that's what Lain and Hannah are, complete strangers!" Sakura cried and Sasuke was shocked to see her tears stroll down her cheek. She covered her face and cried into her hands, "S-So much is happening and I don't know what to think of any of this. I want to be able to know what to do, but I don't. I don't know where to go from here Sasuke! There is so much that I still don't know or understand, and that makes me scared."

Sakura continued to cry into her hands while Sasuke sat in front of her. She truly didn't know who this boy was. All Sakura knew, was that his name was Sasuke Uchiha, he controlled fire and had a smart mouth at times. Apart from that, not much was known about him.

She began to wipe her tears away and sniffed. Sasuke reached out to gently take hold of her wrist, Sakura refused to let him do so but he repeated his movements and forcefully pulled her into his arms.

"S-Sasuke!" Sakura gasped as her face slammed onto his chest. Which by the way, is still bare.

"You once knew everything about me Sakura. And you'll have to learn it all again, slowly. But," Sasuke's arms tightened around her slim body, "But I want you to be able to choose. If you want to learn about me, if you want to know me. You have to want to do so. You are not obligated to learn about me just because of the lost memories that I keep bringing up. Don't feel pressured." His forehead furrowed, "I'll stay by your side until you tell me to leave." At the end of his sentence, Sakura wrapped her armed around him, ignoring the sting that came from her wounds.

"Stay," She whispered as she pulled him in closer, "Please." He pulled away enough for him to be able to hold her face in between his hands. He stared into her glistened jade eyes, she was crying again.

"Saku-" Sasuke was shocked as Sakura threw herself at him and cried into the nape of his neck.

"Please, don't leave me!" She cried and finally let her hand be buried in his long hair. She felt his hands wrap around her body once more and she felt safe.

"I won't."

"Y-You. You're all I have left. From that town, I lost everything that day. My grandmother, my best friend, my home." Sakura sniffed as she stared at the window, never once moving from Sasuke's arms, "I only have you Sasuke. You may have only been in town for two days, but when I think of first meeting you. I remember my home." Sakura sniffled and felt a strange sensation on her head. She touched it with her hand and realized that it was water. But there wasn't any rain outside to cause a leak? She pulled away and her eyes widened. Sasuke had a straight face and a tear had escaped. Without thinking, Sakura brought her left hand up to his right cheek and wiped the tear away. He grabbed her hand and kept it on his cheek as he admired the woman in front of him.

"Don't say dumb things." He whispered as he slowly leaned in, "I kissed you forcefully when I first saw you," The distance between their faces became shorter, "But I would like to leave the next one, up to you." He stopped only an inch away from touching her lips and stared into her wide viridian orbs.

Sakura began to swim in his pool of darkness once more. She remembered when she first saw him, how handsome she thought he was. She then remembered the moment they shared on their second day of travelling.

 **Flashback**

" _You're pretty strong, aren't you?" Sakura smiled as she lay her head on Sasuke's chest. They, well 'he', had been walking for hours. He had her in his arms, something she wasn't able to fight._

" _Aa." He was sweating. Sakura reached up and untied his sash, "What are you doing?" He came to a complete stop and looked down at the girl. She ignored him and began to dab away the sweat on his forehead and face._

" _You seem to be the type to push himself too hard. I know I'm heavy. You could simply help me walk the rest of the way," Sakura saw how intently he kept his gaze on her._

" _Out of the question." He frowned and continued walking._

" _You know, I find it strange how you say I once felt something for you." She made a puzzled expression, "What did I see in you? I see a prideful stubborn man. I never did like prideful boys, and I have very high standards. You don't seem up to my standards." Sakura explained and he came to a halt again. He let her go and caught her before she touched the ground._

" _S-Sasuke!" She yelled angrily and he shrugged._

" _You're right. The risk of being dropped when being carried by someone else, is high." He smirked and once again, continued his steps._

" _What's your problem?" Sakura stuck her nose in the air, "You act like you know me so well."_

" _Well you did happen to tell me that bit of information yesterday." He chuckled and she raised an eyebrow at him._

" _You actually pay attention to me?" She asked and watched his face curiously._

" _Why wouldn't I?"_

" _Because I'm annoying." She rolled her eyes mockingly and he smirked._

" _You pay attention to me too." He stated and she blushed._

" _W-Well, it was an insult directed at me. Of course I'll remember." She began to stutter and he loved it. He still had that effect on her. Although she couldn't possibly remember, she used to blush at him all the time._

" _You wore a light blue blouse with a knee length black skirt." Sasuke described and she gaped, "With ankle high boots. Your hair was up in a ponytail with two loose strands framing your face." Sasuke ended and Sakura could only stare. He just described her outfit on her seventeenth birthday, he had gotten every detail correct._

" _How?" She asked and he shook his head._

" _You know how."_

 _Of course, it would make sense that he would find her before the others did. He would make believe that he had never known where she was, but in reality he knew all too well. No wonder he knew what roads to take, he had been studying the village and the terrain around it for a while._

" _You sound like a stalker." Sakura giggled._

" _I prefer the word, 'Protector'."_

" _Well, I'll call you my stalker."_

" _Sakura."_

" _Yes?" Sakura looked up at him innocently._

" _You're annoying."_

 **End**

He had always looked over her. Even though she may not have known it back then. He was always there.

"I want to learn." She whispered before closing her eyes and quickly, but shyly, closing the distance between them. His lips were soft and warm. They welcomed hers and she felt a tingling sensation run through her body. Sasuke immediately kept her face close and closed his eyes as well. He buried his left hand behind her head, in her hair. He wanted more. He lightly brushed his tongue over her bottom lip and she gasped. He tested the waters first, lightly letting his tongue make its way into her mouth. She didn't pull away nor did she fight him. Instead, she nervously let her tongue find its way to his. He kissed her passionately. He had missed her, although this woman was not the Sakura he knew before. This was a whole new person, someone he had to meet all over again. Just as she would come to get to know him, he would have to get to know her. He pulled away and looked into her eyes.

"You surprised me." He stated and she looked flabbergasted.

"Y-You're the one who gave me the option!" She turned read and laid back down. He merely chuckled and tucked her into bed.

"Go to sleep Sakura." He stood and began to make his way towards the couch.

"Your shirtless and it's a cold night." Sakura stated and he raised his eyebrow at her, as if questioning why she was stating the obvious. She patted the empty side of the bed next to her, "Sleep in bed with me."

"Sakura, I don't think that's appropriate."

"It isn't like we'll be doing anything. We'll both be sleeping." Sakura retorted and Sasuke sighed, "This isn't an option Sasuke, come."

And so he did. He got under the covers and turned on his side to face her. She lay on her back, that way she wouldn't irritate her injuries. He watched her close her eyes and slip away into slumber. He knew he shouldn't have kissed her. She almost sucked it away. He looked at her sleeping body and knew that in the morning, she would be completely healed. Even the deepest injuries. This would happen because of the kiss. A kiss that shouldn't have happened. He was reckless. But, he was glad they kissed. He had missed her terribly. And hearing her tell him to stay by her side, made his heart leap with joy.

"Sasuke," Sakura suddenly spoke up and Sasuke was startled.

"Sakura,"

"What's your true form?"

Sasuke's eyes widened and reverted back to normal in seconds.

"Say my name and find out."

"Your name? I just did." Sakura looked confused as she stared at the man laying next to her.

"No Sakura, you need to say my real name."

Sakura could only stare. His real name? What did he mean by that? Sasuke Uchiha was his name. She then whispered to herself.

"Adora."

Sasuke nodded and his eyes gleamed back to that bright red.

"No. Stop, I'll wait. I don't want to see it." Sakura grabbed his wrist and he stared back at her in shock. She didn't want to see him? She was that scared of what she would see? What was she thinking?

"Hn." Sasuke's expression changed to that of anger and he snatched his hand back. His eyes reverted back to their dark color and he began to turn to his other side. So he didn't have to face Sakura.

"I want to be in love with you." Sakura whispered and Sasuke's eyes snapped open, "If I ever have the honor of seeing what you really look like, I want to be the woman who loves you. I want that to be the last thing, I ever learn about you."


	9. Control

"Woah, my Charlotte worked fast!" Sakura gaped as she noticed she had absolutely no wounds. She began to laugh nervously, "Hey Sasuke, I'm not dead right?" He shot her a glare and she jumped.

"You aren't dead Sakura." Sasuke sighed and began to stand from the bed.

"Sleeping with me wasn't that bad right?" Sakura glanced to see his facial expressions and was surprised to see him blush for two seconds.

"I don't think you should word it like that." He stated and she merely raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's what we did. We slept together."

"Sakura, stop saying that."

"But Sasuke-"

"Sakura."

Sakura did not respond and merely stared at his naked chest. Would he be going out like that? And more importantly, would _she_ be going out like this in public? The shirt Sasuke had let her use, had blood stains all over. And her pants were ripped beyond repair.

"I'll be going out to find clothes soon. You just take a shower and I'll return with clothes for both of us." Sasuke explained as if he had read her mind. Sakura nodded and stared at the boy for a while.

She began to wonder if his second form was much different from the current body she staring at. Would he really change into a beast as he called himself last night?

" _I want to be in love with you." Sakura whispered and Sasuke's eyes snapped open, "If I ever have the honor of seeing what you really look like, I want to be the woman who loves you. I want that to be the last thing, I ever learn about you."_

 _Sasuke quickly turned around and cupped her face. His eyes began to look over every detail that belonged to her features. He looked over from her forehead to her small, slightly pointed nose, all the way to her cute small ears. He stared into her emerald green eyes that seemed to be expressing how surprised she was for him to have committed the act. He searched deep into those large orbs, wanting to know exactly what made her tell him that comment. Maybe she was scared and saying anything just to make sure he wouldn't hurt her. Or maybe, she was pretending to care or even forcing herself to care. But all he saw was a sparkle. A sparkle with a tiny speck on it. The tiny speck was a small seed of her affection towards him._

" _S-Sasuke?" Sakura turned red and he merely crashed his lips onto hers._

" _I'm a beast. You should never want to be the woman to love me."_

It would take a while before she saw his true form. She knew she couldn't just wake up one day and feel such a strong connection with him. She watched as he left the room and motioned her towards the restroom. She understood what he was asking of her. She made her way towards the room and began to unzip Sasuke's shirt.

"He lent me his shirt, he's so thought-" Sakura immediately turned red. The realization of him having to see her upper body naked finally dawned on her. She squealed and started to fidget. He hadn't mentioned anything on the matter, so was he avoiding it? Or maybe he really didn't see it in a very un-innocent way?

"Damn." Sakura sighed and regained composure. She couldn't spend time worrying about such a simple matter, he had no choice but to see her like that. She was attacked by someone she thought she knew well. She let the water hit her body as she stared at the ceiling. Was Kana alright? Did her friends really save her? Was everything she did under the name 'Misori', really a lie?

"Sakura."

His sudden voice caused Sakura to jump and slip.

"A-Ah!" She gasped as her body hit the floor, "Sasuke, why would you scare me like that!?" Sakura yelled as she picked herself up from the floor. She glared at the closed door which Sasuke was behind of. She knew it wasn't his intention to startle her, but she was surprised to hear him walking away from the door. Usually he would ask if she was alright, but he didn't this time. She turned the water off and wrapped a towel around herself. Her hand was on the door handle but she was not making a move to open it. Should she really walk out in just a towel? She bit her lower lip, she didn't know how he viewed her. He had only mentioned having affection towards her, but he was a man after all. Would he be affected by her lack of clothes? She quickly caught her thoughts and shook her head. Sasuke was anything but vile. Turning the knob, she walked out calmly and saw that he was sitting on the bed with his eyes closed.

"Took you long enough." He sighed and opened his eyes to stare at her. He stood and made his way past her, "I'm going to shower now, the clothes are there." He pointed towards the top of the bed and closed the restroom door.

Sakura nodded and stared at the articles of clothing. He had decent taste, Sakura concluded. The shirt he got for her was similar to his, which was a sleeveless dark grey high collared. Hers was also sleeveless but it was a V-cut, not high collared and closed at the torso and it was a light purple shade. Her bottoms consisted of black spandex, that went down to her knees, with dark grey shorts that reached mid-thigh. As for her shoes, he picked out black combat boots. She would not stare at the undergarments too much, nor would she wonder how he knew her bra size. She would simply keep her mind away from indecent thoughts and get dressed before he was out. She stared at the blue sash he had gotten for himself and grinned. He wouldn't be needing that, right? The pinkette looked at herself in the mirror and sighed happily. He had picked everything perfectly. Nothing fit her too tight nor too loose. And she had to admit, she looked good in the outfit. Her eyes landed on her long flowing hair and she frowned. She needed to cut it, but that would have to wait. She picked her hair up into a ponytail and patiently sat on the bed.

Sasuke emerged from the restroom only a few minutes later in his new set of clothes as well. He wore grey pants that reached just below the knee and a dark blue sleeveless shirt, open at the torso. He began to look around the bed, "Sakura, have you seen my blue sash?" He turned to face her and quickly raised his eyebrow. She smiled sheepishly as she realized he had seen what he was looking for, on her hair.

"I didn't think you'd need it too much." She giggled, "My hair was in the way. I should cut it soon, but here," She reached to untie it but was stopped by Sasuke gripping her wrist softly.

"It suits you." He dropped his hand and began to walk towards the window, "We should wait one more hour, until the streets are crowded. We shall move out then and head south." He explained and she furrowed her brows.

"Did Kana really teleport me far away from Lain?" She asked and began to think. Were they really that far away from the home in the woods she had been in?

"She took you deep into the mountains, we would reach Lain's place in about two hours if we were to depart to the North." Sasuke closed the blinds again and began to head towards the bed.

"Wait, but you just said we're heading South." Sakura stated and then it hit her. They were not returning to Lain's. She watched as Sasuke sat on the bed and pulled out a map, "Where did you get the money to get these things?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Stole everything."

"Everything?! Even the clothes?" Her eyes widened and he nodded, "Sasuke, that's wrong!"

"Would you have rather stayed in bloody clothes?" He replied and she only sighed. He was right, new clothes were better than the old. She laughed and pushed his shoulder slightly.

"Well, where are we going?" Sakura motioned at the map and he nodded.

"We will be heading to the Mist village. If I'm correct, there is someone who can help us there." He pointed at the map where there was a blotch of green, "In order to get there, we will be travelling through woods for a while, and soon we will reach the land of Whirlpools. From there, we shall get a boat and reach the Mist in three days. The whole trip will last about fourteen days in total. We have to get supplies in order to make it through the weeks."

"But how will we get the supplies?" Sakura asked and watched as Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I have my ways. Stay here," Sasuke stood and made his way towards the door, "I'll be back in an hour. Is there anything in specific that you may need for the trip?"

Sakura nodded, "Please be sure to get soaps, maybe we can find a lake somewhere along the way to wash up. And food, oh and get-"

"Sakura, I am heading out to get the necessary supplies. That includes, food, outdoor necessities and clothes. Will you survive with six more shirts and three pairs of pants?"

"Make it five pairs of pants and buy a washing board with soap. I'll wash our dirty clothes and leave the drying overnight sometimes." She smiled and he smirked.

"Leave it to you to be productive." He turned his back towards her and waved as he began to walk out the door.

"O-Oh Sasuke," He stopped but did not turn to face her, "Could you um.. you see.. I'm, sort of, a woman.. and women sometimes…" Sakura blushed, "Could you.. womanly supplies.. just in case." She began to fidget intensely. Sakura looked up at Sasuke who was still turned away from her. He didn't reply and simply walked out. She only sighed and hoped he had known what she meant.

* * *

Sasuke walked through the small village calmly. He made sure to keep a low profile just in case Kana's friends had followed. He clenched his fists. Now he had two enemies to deal with, Orochimaru's pawns and Kana. If it hadn't been hard enough with the latter, now he had to work twice as hard. He sighed and began to think about the pinkette. She was so fragile now. She could fight when she was ten, and she was almost a pro at thirteen. Now she couldn't even keep herself from being kidnapped. She was a complete bother.

Sasuke reached the clothing store where he had gotten their current outfits. His eyes turned red, it was time to work fast. In a split second, Sasuke was calmly walking the streets again. In his hands was a bag that contained about twelve shirts and nine pants. He made his way towards a small market and once again repeated the earlier process. To everyone around, it felt like a sharp wind as he sped past them and stole the items he needed. He stopped in front of the women's section and stared at a packet. It was the supply that Sakura had asked for right? Womanly supplies? But which one? There were so many types, was she heavy? "Overnight?" Sasuke muttered looking over the boxes, "This one has wings? Will she be able to fly with these?" He furrowed his brows and looked over the types again. He grabbed one and sped past the owner quickly.

"Did you just see a man there?"

"Don't be absurd! No one has come in!"

* * *

Sakura stared at the things that Sasuke dropped on the bed. She was surprised to see just how much he could carry in such a time.

"I'll start packing." Sasuke stated as he reached for the food, but was surprised when Sakura slapped his hand away.

"Go get breakfast for us both. I'll start packing everything." She smiled and he nodded.

"I brought three bags, I assume they will be enough."

Sakura looked over the supplies and then at the bags. She nodded in response and grabbed hold of the clothes. She sweat dropped, he really couldn't get away from the damn high collars could he? She laughed and began to fold the clothes nicely into a bag. She separated her clothes from his and quickly put things in order.

"Will you be needing another bag?" Sasuke asked and she shook her head.

"This will be fine, I can pack the food in the third bag and the sleeping bags can be attached to the bottom of the bags." Sakura explained and turned to face him, "Would you mind getting scissors? I'd like to change my hairstyle." As she finished her sentence, Sasuke was gone. She could only shake her head at his hastiness.

She turned her attention back on to the supplies and her eyes caught sight of a green small box. She burst into laughter. He had actually gotten her supplies, and even the moveable ones. She wondered if he had a lot of trouble getting these. Maybe that's why he wasn't talking much? She took them out of the box and placed them in her bag. She would have to save him from the trouble of ever speaking about such things. Although she would love to ask.

Suddenly, a sharp pain emitted from her left wrist. She gripped it tightly and her eyes widened at the sight of the three comatose marks appearing. What was happening to her?

"Sakura!" Sasuke appeared in front of her and he gripped her wrist, "You have to control it." Sasuke stated as he looked her straight in the eyes.

"W-What?" Sakura was scared. She didn't know what to do.

"Do you want them to find you?" Sasuke yelled out and she quickly shook her head, "Then fight against this damn mark. Don't let it control you."

Sakura only stared at the marks spreading up her arm. What should she do? How could she stop it? She began to panic.

"Sakura," Sasuke cupped her face and glared at her, "If you lose this battle, you lose me. I don't share what's mine, not with a single damn person. So if you let this consume you, I'm leaving you here."

What? He would abandon her? Her eyes began to tear up. After everything that was said last night, he was still going to leave her. This mark would be the line that separates both Sasuke and herself. If only this mark wasn't in the way. She was so irritated in thinking that this damn thing would be the cause of her doom. This wasn't even a _person_ , no, this was a _thing_. A non-living object, simply a damn mark. She would have preferred to die at Kana's hands. Being separated from Sasuke that way, seemed ideal. Much better than being killed by this stupid tattoo looking thing. She shut her eyes and gripped her head in pain. This was too much, she couldn't possibly fight it off. But, if she didn't, Sasuke would leave. She didn't want him to leave, she wanted to get to know more about him. She wanted to understand him, she wanted to fight by his side. She wanted so much more. With him.

"Sakura." Sasuke's voice reached her ears right before she slipped away into complete darkness.

* * *

"Damn it. She fought it off." Orochimaru hissed and slammed his hand on the table.

"Should we try again?" Minato asked but the snake shook his head.

"All in due time. She will soon figure out that she cannot run from me." He laughed and Minato nodded.

"Should we call in a search team and send them off to find them?"

Orochimaru shook his head once again. There was no need to do that, they would be heading to the only possible person he knew Sasuke trusted more than himself. Sasuke was heading to find _her_.

"We'll be heading towards the Mist village. Be sure to be ready in two days. Gather up the best students you can, Sasuke won't go down without a fight."

* * *

Warm. That was the first thing Sakura felt when she opened her eyes. She noticed she was outdoors now and there was a fire a little bit away from her. When had the sun set? She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"You did well." Sasuke's voice startled her and she glared at the boy sitting next to her.

"I thought you were going to leave." Sakura turned away from him to express her unhappiness.

"But you didn't let it control you, so I'm still here."

Sakura stared at his emotionless face. And decided that he was the least of her worries, "What is this mark?" Sakura looked at her wrist and was surprised to see that nothing was there.

"The mark only appears when he calls for you."

* * *

 **So I'll be gone for about a month starting Monday, so I decided that I will be releasing at least three more chapters to this story with 2,000 words or more. Just to make sure I don't leave you all on too much of a cliffhanger. I will release two chapters tomorrow and the rest on Sunday. I may even upload a fourth chapter, so be on the look out. Tell me if there is anything you need explained or if you have any questions, I'll answer all reviews with questions(If any) in the next update!**


	10. Ya Know?

_**A/N: The questions will be answered at the end of the chapter. Please be sure to leave me your thoughts in the reviews and I will update shortly! Enjoy!**_

* * *

Sakura stared at his emotionless face. And decided that he was the least of her worries, "What is this mark?" Sakura looked at her wrist and was surprised to see that nothing was there.

"The mark only appears when he calls for you." Sasuke stated and Sakura nodded.

"You didn't answer my question though."

"One of the head scientists in Konoha High, was named Orochimaru. He as the one in charge of your experimentations and also the one you were keeping young and alive." Sasuke explained and Sakura nodded, "He has contracts he makes with his possessions, it's the curse mark you have on your wrist. It activates when he wants to control you, he was most likely trying to get you to go to him. But this mark takes a lot to activate, his assistant has to use his Charlotte until the mark covers your whole body. You can imagine how much he is at a disadvantage whenever they activate a curse mark. The thing that makes them a curse is, sometimes they will activate by themselves and the host will never realize it."

"So I'm his possession? I'm not considered a living person." Sakura clenched her fists and Sasuke sighed.

"The contract you made with Orochimaru was simple, he needed to remove my curse mark in order to get you." Sasuke pulled his shirt down slightly and Sakura caught sight of a scar. It was in the shape of a circle and looked rigid. She understood that the scar was once the location of the curse mark. She stared at her wrist and began to shake her head.

"How do we stop it?"

"We kill him."

Sakura's head snapped up to look at Sasuke and she looked petrified. Kill? She's never even learned self-defense! How could she possibly kill the man? She began to play possible scenarios in her head. Scenario number 1, she would let Sasuke do all the work and be useless. Scenario number 2, she could try to help but get herself killed in the process. Scenario number 3, she could try to help and mess up and cause both Sasuke and herself to get killed. Scenario number 4, she could ask Sasuke to teach her how to fight. Scenario number 4 seemed like a good idea, at least to Sakura it did. She began to look at her surroundings.

"Where are we?" She asked as she focused on the clouded dark sky.

"We are deep in the woods, I carried you out here while you were out." He replied as he placed more wood in the fire.

"Sasuke," Sakura called out and he turned his stare towards her, "What was I like, you know, before?" His eyes widened slightly but he calmly turned his attention back to the fire.

"You were, different."

 **Flashback**

" _Sakura,"_

 _Said girl turned around to face the voice, "Sasuke?" She looked over his body in search of injuries. He had a habit of coming to her for that, since she first healed him. But he was in perfect condition and so her worried expression slightly faded._

" _I'll only say this once. Be my partner."_

 _Sakura was flabbergasted. Did he seriously just ask her to be his partner? Hadn't he rejected her at first? She stepped back nervously. Her bangs covered her eyes, and so he had no idea that her eyes were as wide as saucers. She fidgeted and turned her back towards him, "I-I don't think you would l-like me as a partner." She stuttered and began to nervously walk away._

" _I'll be in training ground three, if you'd like to start practice today." Sasuke stated and disappeared into the end of the hall._

" _He likes you, ya know?" a woman came out from the corner and smiled down at Sakura._

" _He…. does?" Sakura looked up at the beautiful woman that seemed to be blessing Sakura with her bright smile. The woman nodded and pushed her long red hair, behind her ear._

" _It isn't every day that the little Uchiha tells anyone to be his partner." Her soft violet eyes gleamed as she mentioned the boy._

" _I'm… I'm not fitted to be his partner though." Sakura looked down in shame and the woman raised her brow._

" _What makes you think that?" She asked and Sakura pointed at her hair._

" _For one, he doesn't like my hair." Sakura started and the pointed towards the bangs covering her face, "I have a huge forehead that I have to keep covered as well, and I have a Charlotte that can't be used for fighting. I am of no use to him."_

" _Bahaha!" The women held her stomach as she crouched over and laughed. Sakura only stepped back and fidgeted. The red head slowly but surely, stopped laughing and faced Sakura once more, "Who cares if he doesn't like your hair? I like your hair. Do you like mine?" The woman pointed at her own hair and smiled._

" _Your hair…. Your hair is very beautiful." Sakura blushed and the woman grinned._

" _My hair color isn't one you see every day, just like yours isn't either ya know!" The red head extended her right hand towards the child, "Kushina Uzumaki, at your service." Sakura's eyes widened. This was Naruto's relative, right?_

" _S-Sakura Haruno!" She took Kushina's hand in her own and shook nervously._

" _Sakura, women can't rely on men. No matter what, women must be strong on their own. Sasuke's approval shouldn't matter to you one bit. What should matter, is that you get your own approval." Kushina used her left hand to brush away Sakura's bangs, "You're beautiful and it's such a shame that you let your hair cover your eyes. They're like jewels ya know?"_

" _I don't have the confidence." Sakura back away from Kushina and quickly placed her bangs above her eyes again._

" _Sasuke hasn't had a single partner since he's been here in Konoha High. If he chose you," Kushina walked over to Sakura, "It must mean you're very special." She poked Sakura's cheek and began to walk away, "If you ever want to talk, I'm always hanging around the peach trees out back ya know!"_

 **End**

Sakura watched the moon for a while. Sasuke hadn't really explained much to her, all he said was that she was shy and annoying. That damn word again, he always used it to describe her.

"You would always hang around the damn peach trees. I didn't like having to go find you there, I hate peaches." Sasuke sighed and began poking at the fire with a stick, "You had been my partner for four months when you suddenly changed."

"Changed?" Sakura was confused, so she changed?

"Aa. You were suddenly.." Sasuke trailed off and then looked up at the sky, "You were suddenly brighter."

 **Flashback**

" _You can't always keep your bangs there, ya know!" Kushina grabbed Sakura's arm and began to part her bangs to the sides._

" _K-Kushina!" Sakura cried out helplessly as she couldn't break loose from the woman's grip._

" _There," Kushina back away and smiled softly, "You look cute."_

 _Sakura touched her, now visible, forehead and blushed, "R-Really?"_

" _Yes, look!" Kushina rushed Sakura over to a window. There, Sakura could see her slight reflection and could see the bow that Kushina had place on her hair._

 _It was a bit embarrassing to have her forehead showing, but Sakura agreed. She looked cute. The deep purple bow held her bangs out of her face and helped her hair be a bit more, lively. It was all new to Sakura, but Kushina said she looked good._

" _Now listen here, you must be proud of your features. Without pride in yourself, you are a simple tool to life. Your forehead is your biggest concern, but one day," Kushina leaned in to Sakura's ear, "Someone will love it more than any of your other features."_

" _W-What!" Sakura turned red and covered her forehead, causing Kushina to laugh._

" _You'll be late for practice, ya know!"_

" _A-Ah!" Sakura nodded and ran off in the opposite direction, "Goodbye Kushina-san!" She couldn't be late to practice, Sasuke would scold her. And he had the habit of being very harsh. Sakura ran through the halls and past the training rooms. She quickly halted in front of number seven. The door slid open and a hand grabbed hold of her collar._

" _You're late." Sasuke stated but his scowl quickly faded and turned into curiosity. He looked over her face, she had her eyes closed shut in fear of his actions. But what he was most interested in, was her hair. It was completely out of her face, her forehead was showing and he imagined the outline of a heart along her face._

" _I-I'm sorry, Sasuke." Sakura whispered and he let go of her._

" _Let's start practice." Sasuke walked over to the middle of the field and sat down, crossed legged, "Let's begin with you, remember that you have to focus your Charlotte to your palm. You must imagine what you want to do with your Charlotte, exactly as you want it to happen." He took out a small blade and cut his palm, "But also remember not to try to use all of your Charlotte at once, that is how your Charlotte is triggered to fight back. If that happens, you won't be able to heal any one."_

" _R-Right." Sakura sat in front of him and carefully grabbed his injured hand. Focusing as best as she could, she began to let her Charlotte flow into the palm. Heal him. That was all that she wanted to do at the moment. To close his wound is what she aimed for._

" _You're nervous, that affects the outcome as well." Sasuke stated and Sakura nodded. She needed to calm down. She took a deep breath and thought about what Kushina said._

' _You must be special.'_

 _Sasuke chose her to be his partner for a reason. She couldn't let him down! She imagined Sasuke's healed hand, she needed to remember what it looked like and how it should be._

" _Good job, Sakura" Sasuke's voice snapped her out of her trance and she looked down to see his hand fully healed. She smiled._

" _Alright, damn it!" Sakura yelled out happily and laughed._

 _Sasuke could only stare. The girl in front of him, was she still the same girl he refused to have as a partner?_

" _Hey, Sasuke. Let's practice combat skills! I think I can dodge that technique you pulled on me yesterday!" Sakura stared at him hoping he'd agree. She was feeling daring. More than daring, she was feeling like she could risk her life._

 **End**

Sakura lay in her sleeping bag, she had many thoughts running through her head. Who was Kushina? And how in the world was she ever shy? Sakura had always lacked confidence, but never hid her face from any one, nor hesitated to speak to strangers. And why had Sasuke said she had a boost of self-pride within just a few months? Sakura sighed. All this information was confusing, but she would have to leave questions unanswered. None of the answers would help her now. After all, even Sasuke himself once said that she was a completely different Sakura. The Sakura she was asking about, wasn't her.

Sakura had been through a lot. Or at least, the old Sakura had been. But that did not in any way shape who she was now. Sakura was the person she was, because of the sudden memory loss. Because she remembered nothing, her personality was shaped by what she saw other girls do.

 **Flashback**

" _You have grown beautifully, Sakura." Kushina smiled and stroked the crying girl's cheek._

" _D-Don't leave. Please." Sakura cried_

" _You're already twelve and still crying? That's lame, ya know?" Kushina giggle and placed her hand on Sakura's head, "I'll be back one day, and when I am. Tell me all about how Sasuke finally confesses his feelings for you." Sakura gasped and Kushina covered her own lips, "Oops, did I just confess for him? Oh no, I always mess up ya know!" Kushina laughed and Sakura smiled._

" _Please come back soon."_

" _I will, see ya later!" Kushina began to walk out of the gates when Sakura suddenly felt her confidence boost tremendously._

" _Mom!" Sakura blurted out, causing Kushina to stop dead in her tracks. Her eyes as wide as ever as she turned to face the pinkette._

" _If you aren't back by my thirteenth birthday…." Sakura shut her eyes in order to keep more tears from falling, "I'll pummel you, ya know!?"_

 **End**

"We have to leave by nightfall, Naruto." Shikamaru sighed as he placed the last of his clothing into the bag.

"I know. I'll only be gone a few minutes." Naruto stated as he swung his back pack over his shoulder and began to walk out of the room, "I need to talk to dad."

Naruto closed the door and began to walk towards the exit. He would have to be extremely quiet. He couldn't be heard.

* * *

"What happened to Kushina?"

"Nobody knows. She never came back." Sasuke answered and Sakura nodded.

"When I say her name. I can tell she meant a lot to me, it's hard to explain. But something about the name, makes me happy." Sakura smiled at the sky and Sasuke only turned on his side. He was now facing away from her.

"Aa. You two…" Sasuke stared at the falling leaves of a tree in front of him, "Were very similar."

"Sasuke," Sakura whispered and in turn received a grunt, "There's someone nearby."

Sasuke immediately sat up and grabbed Sakura. He made a move to jump into a tree but was stopped by a knife being thrown at the tree in front of them.

"It isn't nice to try an escape."

* * *

 ** _Q: Will there be any love rivals for Sasuke or Sakura?_**

 ** _A: I wouldn't necessarily say that they would be considered 'Rivals' towards either of them._**

 ** _If any of you have any other questions, I'll answer them in the following update._**


	11. Request

"Sasuke," Sakura whispered and in turn received a grunt, "There's someone nearby."

Sasuke immediately sat up and grabbed Sakura. He made a move to jump into a tree but was stopped by a knife being thrown at the tree in front of them.

"It isn't nice to try an escape." The voice called out, and from the shadows arose a tall man with white hair.

"Kakashi, state your purpose." Sasuke took a protective stance in front of Sakura.

"What makes you think I have a purpose?" Kakashi answered and Sakura wondered what expression he was making under his mask. She thought it was quite odd for him to cover his face like that, but figured it was because he was the enemy. Suddenly, she was jumping in front of Sasuke and pointing her finger at the man.

"Y-You're Kakashi! I thought you were a team mate of Sasuke's, why are you attacking him?" She watched as his visible eye widened and then closed. He said nothing as he turned around and began to walk away.

"Kakashi," Sasuke muttered and in turn received another kunai thrown in his direction.

"They have already made their move. I, personally, would rather not get involved. Please be careful with our little cherry blossom. See ya." And within a puff of smoke. Kakashi was gone.

Sakura only stared at the place where the man had last been. She was trying to wrap her head around what had just happened, it was completely surreal. Of course, Sakura didn't know the man. But Sasuke had told her about him, Kakashi was the one who could copy Charlotte's and he helped them send the letter forward in time. Even so, he had just thrown sharp objects at Sasuke. Did this mean that he was an enemy?

"Let's move." Sasuke stated as he began to pick up the sleeping bags.

"We haven't rested. You should sleep a little before we continue moving, Sasuke." Sakura said and he shook his head.

"Kakashi shouldn't have been near this forest. Which means, that they will be here soon." Sasuke explained as he gathered the bags and handed one over to Sakura. She nodded and took it. He began to walk into the woods again, with her following close behind.

* * *

"Listen Minato," Orochimaru started, "You are not allowed to fail me right now. You bring her back to me, I do not have more time to live. Unless, you'd like me to use another source for my life?"

"No sir, that will not be necessary. I will bring her back." Minato said as Orochimaru smirked. Of course the snake knew that Minato would obey his every command.

"Please gather your team and leave immediately."

Minato bowed his head and walked out of the office. That damn snake had him wrapped around his finger. How much more time would pass before Minato got his wish? Nevertheless, the man began to walk towards the team's rooms. He needed to find Sakura fast, time was running out.

"Dad."

Minato was face to face with his son. What was Naruto doing walking the halls so late? Even more so, Minato was pleased to see that his boy already had his bag slung around his shoulder.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"I will not hurt Sasuke. You understand that right?" The boy began as he stared intently into his father's eyes. Naruto was best friends with Sasuke and no matter what, there would not be a battle between them. Not even if Minato ordered Naruto to engage in violence against Sasuke. Naruto would rather have Minato disown him.

"When in battle, you will not have another choice. It is either him, or your," Minato trailed off. Naruto only took a step forward.

"Or my what?"

"Nothing. Please be ready to leave. Meet us at the front gates." Minato turned around and began to walk down the hall again. Naruto only frowned at his father's back. In the end, this most likely wasn't the man who raised him. His father had changed the moment his mother disappeared, he had become very harsh and distant with everyone, including his own son. This angered Naruto.

"I'll meet you anywhere. Just not today, dad." Naruto made his way outside and stopped at the gates. He took one good look at the school and then ran into the wilderness. There was no way he would follow his dumb dad's orders. His dad was practically a tool for Orochimaru anyways. And Naruto would not be a tool for Minato. Not in this life time.

* * *

Sakura carefully made her way over the rocks that stuck out from the river. In order to get to a new destination, they needed to cross a large river in the middle of the woods. It would have been easier to do so in the morning, but time was against them. Sasuke was ahead of her, only a rock away. And as Sakura jumped from rock to rock, she began to wonder if he was thinking about Kakashi. Then again, he was probably more concerned with getting far away from the group that was on their tails.

"How far away are we from the land of Whirlpools?" Sakura asked and jumped on another rock. Sasuke did the same, but far more gracefully than she did.

"We are about nine days away. We will reach the Village named Konohagakure first. That village is about six days away." Sasuke explained and landed on the final rock and onto the other side of the river. He turned to face her and motioned her to hurry up. She only rolled her eyes. He would act completely cold towards her at times but she knew if she were to slip, he would be jumping in after her. She quickly made her way over to stand next to him and smiled.

"I made it. Sorry, I know you wanted to get rid of me just now. But you're stuck with me." She joked and he only smirked slightly.

"Let's continue a little farther up and we'll camp out then."

Sakura nodded and they both began to walk.

"How was your life in that small village?" Sasuke asked and Sakura was surprised. This was a first.

"Well, it wasn't anything special." Sakura began as she stepped around large bushes, "To be completely honest, I hated that village. It was always so close minded and there weren't any actual signs of life other than humans walking around. And even then, it was like we were all puppets." This was exactly what Sakura felt about that town. She herself felt like a puppet. That's why she and Misori wished so much to graduate school and leave that town as soon as possible.

"How did you meet Kana?" Sasuke asked again and Sakura frowned.

"I didn't. Who I met, was Misori." She explained and then sighed, "I was new to that middle school, and when I presented myself I accidentally tripped in front of the teacher's desk. Everyone laughed and she got up and threw herself on the floor. All the attention was directed at her and I felt a little bit less humiliated. She introduced herself to me at lunch and we just instantly clicked." Sakura smiled at the ground and continued to climb up the hills in the woods. Now that she thought about it, maybe Misori had investigated about her all along. She was most likely never her true friend.

"Did you know about her the whole time?" Sakura asked and Sasuke shook his head.

"No, she did extremely well in keeping her true identity hidden. I only realized who she was after the explosion at school." He said as he helped her climb over a boulder.

"She was very good at acting." Sakura sighed and continued to walk behind Sasuke. It was getting cold, but Sasuke didn't seem bothered by it. He truly was just focused on getting farther away.

"Why were you avoiding me when we were at my uncle's?" Sakura found herself asking and Sasuke stayed quiet for a short amount of time.

"Lain had asked me to stay away from you. I was going to leave you in his hands and disappear. I didn't want you getting to attached to me." He explained and she scoffed.

"How smart of a move _that_ was." She knew that comment was uncalled for, but the thought of him abandoning her there angered her. How could he even think about leaving her like that?

How rude.

"Sakura," Sasuke called out and she looked up at him. He only stared at her, before turning back around and continuing to walk. Maybe he was upset at the comment? She was beginning to get braver at such conversations and replies. Maybe that was bothering him?

"Hey Sasuke," She started and continued to follow his footsteps, "I know that I've been a huge bother lately, but I'd like to ask you for something."

"Hn."

"Can you teach me combat skills?"

"You don't need such skills when you have me." Sasuke stated annoyingly. To be completely truthful, he was upset that she even thought about having to fight with her own strength. Did she not feel protected enough with him? He was very much capable of keeping her safe. She had no need for skills that required more training and more time on her part.

"I want to be able to break free if I get captured again. I don't want to be a heavy burden on you." Sakura sighed. He was being prideful again wasn't he? Just cause he's a man, he thinks he needs to shoulder the weight by himself. Typical. What a fucking douche he was. He hadn't learned a single thing from being around her, had he? She would much rather him lose the pride sometimes, and actually talk to her and depend on her as well.

"I may teach you, but not now."

"Sasuke, we shouldn't wait for any training until the Mist village. That is too dangerous. I could get captured on the way." Suddenly, she was slammed against a tree.

"Do you doubt my skills to keep you by my side? Do you take me as a weakling?" He seethed and she only frowned at him. How could he let that comment get to him?

"Sasuke, you are not at fault for what Kana did to me. If I had been able to fight her off even using my mere strength, I know you would have kept me by your side and won against her. But even now, we must not get too cocky. The possibility of my capture is still floating around in the air." She softly caressed his cheek, "You are very strong, too strong for your own good. But I must be able to fend for myself so that you can become stronger."

Sasuke slowly backed away and turned his back on her. She was right. If she had been even a little bit more skilled, she may have gotten away from Kana before being taken to that damn cave. He began to walk farther into the woods and Sakura only accepted the silence as she walked behind him. She wouldn't make any more conversation unless he would be the one to start it. She didn't want to upset him further.

* * *

Naruto made his way through the woods that Kakashi had told him about. He understood Sasuke's train of thoughts and knew that his friend had probably decided to get further away. Kakashi must have sent off a trigger in Sasuke's head and that trigger made Sasuke get all paranoid. Naruto knew him all too well.

"You shouldn't let such things get you all defensive, Sasuke." He whispered as he reached the river. Sasuke must be heading towards _her_. He always had a lot of trust in that woman. Although Naruto always kept his guard up when around her. That woman was scary and not to be trusted. So he couldn't understand why Sasuke had so much faith in her, even after she left Konoha High.

"Oh well." Naruto laughed as he began to cross the river and onto the other side.

"Hey Naruto," A voice called out from behind him, causing him to stumbled forward. He quickly turned around in a defensive position,

"Leaving without your team?" She smiled as she jumped on to the ground in front of him.

"I don't want to fight you, Ino." He backed away slowly.

"Oh wow. Someone has a bit of a soft side." She sighed, "No wonder you can't bring yourself to kill Sasuke. He's an enemy now, you know." She began to make her way towards him.

"Stay back, or I will have to use my Charlotte on you." Naruto warned and she only laughed. He thought Ino was a weird one. One day, she was your ally. But the next, she was suddenly attacking you. He didn't know what side she was on right now. So he couldn't let his guard down, especially after her following him so far out of the school.

"You know, I never liked Sakura. She was always a little twerp to me. Since the first day she transferred into our class, I knew she would cause trouble." Ino took out a kunai and began to twirl it around her fingers, "Then my dear Sasuke-kun, took an interest to her. And he forgot all about me. I was about to be his partner. He would have chosen me and not her if she had just stayed away." Ino became angered and Naruto knew what was coming next.

"You will not reach them in time, Naruto. I will stop you right here. And Orochimaru-sama will grant my request of keeping Sasuke-kun alive." She seethed and charged at him.

* * *

 _ **All the chapters before this one have been edited, remember that I have marked the ones I edited with '** *** **' at the beginning of the chapters. some will have little notes next to them.**_

 _ **Also, this chapter may be a little short for your likings but next Thursday, I will be releasing 2 chapters. The battle with Ino and a battle with someone else. I can't talk too much about the second battle but hopefully you are all looking forward to how I will portray Ino in this story!**_

 _ **Constructive criticism is welcomed. Leave any questions you want answered!**_


	12. Your Mistake

"You know, I never liked Sakura. She was always a little twerp to me. Since the first day she transferred into our class, I knew she would cause trouble." Ino took out a kunai and began to twirl it around her fingers, "Then my dear Sasuke-kun, took an interest to her. And he forgot all about me. I was about to be his partner. He would have chosen me and not her if she had just stayed away." Ino became angered and Naruto knew what was coming next.

"You will not reach them in time, Naruto. I will stop you right here. And Orochimaru-sama will grant my request of keeping Sasuke-kun alive." She seethed and charged at him.

Naruto immediately blocked her kick with his forearms and grabbed her ankle to throw her in the opposite direction. She landed on her feet and flung forward with her fist ready to strike her opponent. The boy quickly did a series of backflips to avoid the blow and put his hands in front of him, "Ino, come on please." He pleaded but she only ran at him again. She kicked the ground under him as if to trip the boy, but he jumped up. Although having avoided the first punch she threw, the second one hit him straight in the jaw and sent him stumbling backwards.

"Alright. That's it!" Naruto rubbed his injured jaw and clenched his fists, "You wanna fight? Let's fight!" For an instant he stood locked, face to face, with the woman he had grown up with. Then he ran full force towards her. She was no longer his ally and no longer someone he would protect. She was in his way. He threw a punch her way. Ino jerked back, aside. The blow meant for her jaw whizzed by in a blur of knuckles. From the corner of her eye, she saw her opponent's other arm begin an upward trajectory. She ducked this time, and felt her hair ruffle with the force of it.

 _Drop to the floor. Roll clear, stand. Don't let him connect. Draw it out._ She thought as she continued to dodge his punches and kicks.

Naruto charged with a roar like a bull. Ino sidestepped, whirled to face him. Her opponent lunged. She avoided one flying fist, only to collide with another. The blow glanced off her ribcage, a sharp sting fading fast. In front of her, Naruto grinned and jabbed again at her midsection.

"Why are you grinning?" Ino wiped off the small trail of blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, "You fell right into my trap." She smirked as his body froze.

 _What the hell?_ His muscles wouldn't move an inch. His eyes looked all around to try to find the cause for his paralysis. He couldn't find anything.

"You're wasting your time looking around." Ino called out, "You were too busy on making sure your hits would hit me, that you dropped your guard." She lifted her right index finger and pulled him closer. His eyes widened. _When had she?_ "You made it too easy. Our souls are almost one." She turned her palm facing upwards and began to lift her middle finger inwards. As she did so, Naruto felt a sharp pain emitting from his chest. A bright yellow aura began to seep out. It was connected to a royal purple aura. Of course, how could he have missed it.

 _She landed on her feet and flung forward with her fist ready to strike her opponent. Unfortunately, she was a second too late and her fingers only grazed his right elbow and he did a series of backflips to avoid the blow._

That was the first time she began her attack. How could he not have noticed it? _  
_

 _She kicked the ground under him as if to trip the boy, but he jumped up. She punched upwards and he caught it with his right hand. As he did so, he felt the slight pressure of her thumb on the back of his left palm and although having avoided the first punch she threw, the second one hit him straight in the jaw and sent him stumbling backwards. Did she just caress his chin?_

She got him twice then.

 _The blow meant for her jaw whizzed by in a blur of knuckles, she avoided it perfectly and lightly tapped the back of his shoulder. From the corner of her eye, she saw her opponent's other arm begin an upward trajectory. She ducked this time, and felt her hair ruffle with the force of it but did not miss the opportunity to lightly touch his chest._

She was slick.

 _The blow glanced off her ribcage, a sharp sting fading fast. In front of her, Naruto grinned and jabbed again at her midsection. She took the chance to graze both his knees._

Of course she would be keen. She was smart.

"Poor Naruto, you're still a knucklehead." She laughed, "You forgot that I have control over souls. I can easily take yours right now." She pulled harder and Naruto yelped out in pain. She was toying with him, and testing her power, "I could also just take over your body. My soul can join with yours and I can inhabit your body without killing you. Of course, you'd be asleep until I decided to split our souls again." She sighed worriedly. He only rolled his eyes.

"Your soul can devour other people's souls and your power would grow more powerful. You can take over your enemy's body, just as you said. Or in instances where you have more than one enemy, you can switch the souls and they would be unable to figure out how to function in a foreign body. There's also the chance of you just setting my soul free and dispose of my body causing my soul to wander the world." Naruto said and Ino blushed.

"You know so much about my Charlotte, I'm so embarrassed." She giggled childishly and then went into a serious expression, "I think I'll just devour your chakra. I'll be more powerful and I would be one of Orochimaru-sama's trusted comrade." She continued to pull at his soul.

Naruto gasped for air as more of his soul was pulled out. He had to think of something fast. He looked at his surroundings frantically. He didn't have much time. Ino could succeed in pulling out his soul in a matter of minutes. He began to panic, he didn't know how to beat Ino. As sweat trailed down his forehead it began to cool with the breeze. Naruto wished he could wipe it away, it was already a cold night and he didn't want to feel colder. Suddenly, it dawned on him.

"Well Ino, your mistake was simple." He began as his grin found its way back to his face. She raised her eyebrow at him, "You should never battle with Naruto Uzumaki outside of a home." He chuckled and closed his eyes to focus. _Make the wind blow harder. Make it a rough breeze._ He thought. He needed to get to Sasuke before his father did. No way he could lose to Ino! Answering Naruto's calls, the wind blew extremely hard and Ino's grip on Naruto's soul weakened slightly. But this was enough for Naruto to be able to move his arm enough to send a rough wind towards her body throwing her Charlotte off course. Her attack had failed. His soul seeped back into his body and he began to move freely. His first move was to charge at her full on.

 _Block_. _Shove away. Back off._ Ino thought once again. As the pain from the earlier air attack began to slow her down.

Avoidance was simple, but it couldn't last forever.

The girl screamed. Naruto had used his Charlotte. The ball of wind hit her on her back. She gasped in pain as she fell to the floor.

Up. She had to get up. She was on his feet, shaking her head, trying to see through a black haze. She staggered through madness and confusion, fog and pain. Naruto kicked her up and grabbed her by the neck, "I didn't want to fight you. You left me no choice." He muttered and swiftly punched her in the stomach. The blow drew every last breath she had inside of her built stomach and she passed out. He dropped her to the floor and stepped over her to continue his path. She lay huddled on her side, as if sleeping, covered with bruises and mud, her purple two piece now adorned with tears. Her hand lay-up curled on the cobbles, open to the falling rain.

"You didn't stand a chance Ino."

* * *

"Sasuke, we should really rest." Sakura coughed. There was too much dust everywhere and she was tired. But Sasuke seemed determined to move forward.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called out as she came to a halt. She was frustrated. She didn't want to keep going and he just kept walking. How much longer would he keep this up? He needed as much rest as she did.

"Look, we just need to get farther away Sakura." Sasuke sighed and turned to continue to walk.

"Sasuke, we-!" Suddenly Sakura was swept up in water.

"Brother, I got the trespassers." A teenage girl cheered on top of the tree. Her collar bone length bright blue hair flew softly in the wind as her salmon colored eyes shone in the darkness. Sakura caught glimpse of the girl before the water engulfed her and formed a floating water ball.

"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled

"Oh dear, I missed one." The girl shook her head in disapproval. She lifted her left hand and water began to seep towards her.

"Mika, stop. I got him." A male voice called out.

"Alright big brother." The girl set her hand down and giggled.

Sasuke was suddenly wrapped in wood as a teenage boy emerged from the shadows. The boy glances at Sasuke before turning to face his sister.

"You'll kill the girl if you keep her in that forever." He called out and his sister sighed.

"I won't let you." Sasuke muttered as he emitted fire from his body burning the wood restraining him and aiming for the blue haired girl. The girl immediately let Sakura go and used the water to protect herself. The water evaporated on contact with Sasuke's fire. Sasuke smirks, "My fire isn't extinguished by water." Sasuke turned his free hand to the brother and aimed, "You're next."

"W-Wait! We can save your friend!" The boy yells and Sasuke immediately stops his attack.

"I can save her myself with CPR."

"No, Mika's water contains poison." The boy explained and Sasuke's eyes widened.

"One wrong move. And I'll end you." Sasuke glared before slowly dropping his fire.

* * *

 **Two more chapters will be released tomorrow! (:**


	13. Mika and Hatsui

"I won't let you." Sasuke muttered as he emitted fire from his body burning the wood restraining him and aiming for the blue haired girl. The girl immediately let Sakura go and used the water to protect herself. The water evaporated on contact with Sasuke's fire. Sasuke smirks, "My fire isn't extinguished by water." Sasuke turned his free hand to the brother and aimed, "You're next."

"W-Wait! We can save your friend!" The boy yells and Sasuke immediately stops his attack.

"I can save her myself with CPR."

"No, Mika's water contains poison." The boy explained and Sasuke's eyes widened.

"One wrong move. And I'll end you." Sasuke glared before slowly dropping his fire.

"Okay, okay. Let's go to our home. We will treat her there." The boy slowly moves over to the unconscious girl and makes a move to pick her up. Almost instantly, Sasuke slaps his hand away and he takes Sakura into his arms. Sasuke threw the boy a look, one that could translate to, _touch-her-and-I'll-have-your-head._ The group made its way slightly deeper into the woods and found themselves in an area where a small cabin was located. The siblings turned to face Sasuke and smiled slightly.

"This is our home. You weren't too far away from it." Mika says in a cheery voice and begins to skip her way into the home. Her brother follows slowly behind her and stays quiet as he motions for Sasuke to go inside. Nothing more is said as the boy treats Sakura's injuries and the silence drives Mika to step outside. Sasuke was intensely staring at the sibling left in the room and noticed his appearance. The boy had long hair that reached about mid back and it was a navy hair color, it differed greatly from Mika's. His eyes were a dark brown and he had an oval shaped face structure and a small nose that resembled that of a woman's. He was wearing khaki slacks and a black poncho over what Sasuke thought was a green tank top. The boy was also very good with herbs, Sasuke observed, so much that he was treating Sakura in less than twenty minutes. Suddenly, a small cup with a liquid was put out towards Sasuke. The fire user eyed it confused and then turned his vison towards the herbalist.

"Would you rather I give it to her?" He asked in an annoyed tone that left Sasuke wondering for a second, what exactly the boy meant.

"Shouldn't you be giving-" Sasuke stopped his sentence as he realized what the boy had meant by 'give'.

"She's unconscious, so we have to put the liquid in our mouths and slowly transfer it into hers." The boy explained and Sasuke slowly took the liquid from his hands. It wasn't like he had never placed his lips on Sakura's before, this should be nothing. And so, Sasuke took the liquid in his mouth and leaned over her small body. With his thumb and index finger, Sasuke slowly tilted Sakura's chin up and parted her lips slightly. The liquid began to make its way into her mouth when Sasuke began to feel a pull on his Charlotte. It began in his chest and was making its way up into his throat. He quickly let the rest of the liquid pour into her mouth and pulled away. Mika walked in at that exact moment with water and some blueberries.

"Hey guys, sorry for taking so long. I found some blueberries and got us some water." She chirped and placed a cup and a plate of blueberries in front of the two boys. She sat down and began to eat her share. Sasuke eyed her and began to look over her as well. Her bright blue hair was styled in a small half pony tail with the loose hair reaching her collar bone, this hair color brought out her salmon colored eyes that seemed to look fierce compared to her hair. Her face, unlike her brother's, was diamond shaped and gave her a more defined shape. She wore black colored shorts that reached mid thigh and a magenta long sleeved shirt. Her shoes were simple lace-up black sandals. She noticed Sasuke eyeing her and gave him a small wink. Sasuke inwardly rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the male sibling.

"Name." Sasuke ordered and in turn received a sigh

"It's common courtesy to state your name before demanding someone else's." This reply irritated Sasuke but he nonetheless complied.

"Uchiha Sasuke, this is Haruno Sakura." Sasuke said as he motioned in Sakura's direction.

"My name is Katsui and this is Mika. We are siblings and so our last name is Sangrio." Katsui answered and stuck out his hand, "We are very sorry to have attacked you." Sasuke took his hand and shook it slightly before pulling away and bringing his attention back to Sakura.

"We have wells around the parts in the forest that come close to our home. The water calls out to me whenever an unknown person passes by the wells." Mika began to explain, "This helps us stay safe, we don't want any bad intruders."

"You both have Charlotte's." Sasuke stated and the siblings nodded.

"We were placed out here far away from civilization by our parents. The scientists were out there picking up any kids that have been stated to have the powers." Hatsui began, "Our parents faked our deaths and relocated us out here. They visit once a year. We are very well off out here, we have learned to adjust and we understand the circumstances." Mika nodded at her brother's statements, "You also have powers, a fire power. One of the strongest, why are you out here?"

"Yes, I have a fire Charlotte. I will not disclose any more information other than that. For after all, we are all still strangers." Sasuke stated and made a move to stand, "We will be taking our leave now." Mika immediately stood and grabbed onto Sasuke's shirt.

"Wait, she isn't well yet and won't wake until tomorrow afternoon. You should stay here until then." She had eyes filled with lust and Sasuke shook her off.

"She isn't like the people you have poisoned before. She'll be awake soon." Sasuke picked Sakura up and began to walk towards the door.

"I agree with Mika, you should stay here at least until she wakes."

"S-Sasuke?" Sakura croaked and Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement.

"There. She's awake, goodbye." Sasuke said in a monotone voice and left the cabin. Both siblings were left with their mouths open in astonishment.

"W-Wait!" Katsui yelled as he and his sister chased after the pair, "Let us go with you. Mother and father aren't visiting until the end of the year and we have a lot of free time."

"You don't even know where we are going." Sasuke answered in a very annoyed tone. He couldn't understand why these twerps wanted to tag along.

"P-Please!" Mika placed a water wall in front of Sasuke which only caused the boy to give out an angry grunt.

"Get out of my damn way!" Sasuke yelled and in turn got his legs wrapped around in wood. Sasuke glared at Katsui who sheepishly grinned.

"Let us go on your journey with you." He said again and Sasuke only sighed.

"Let go of my legs. Now." Sasuke ordered and Katsui shook his head.

"Say you'll let us tag along."

"I will not be responsible for any damage that happens to you while you both take on the roles of lost puppies." Sasuke answered and was released from the wood's grasp. He turned away and continued walking.

"Can you give us like twenty minutes to get our stuff ready?" Mika asked and Sasuke rolled his eyes. This couldn't be happening to him. Why was he getting stuck with these two people? He didn't even ask how old they were. Although they looked about 17 and 15, the latter being Katsui.

"Catch up." Sasuke said as he continued to walk, he hoped they wouldn't find him after those twenty minutes.

"Sasuke, who are they?" Sakura asked as she looked up at him. He briefly returned her look and then brought his eyesight back forward.

"They're siblings who live out in the forest. They were placed there to escape the grasp of the scientists. Hatsui and Mika. Hatsui is an obvious wood Charlotte and Mika is water."

"Suits her well, she resembles a fish." Sakura giggled as she recalled Mika's hair and eyes. Sasuke only smirked at her childness, she was still weak but managed to joke around like that.

"Anyways, both of them will be accompanying us on our little mission. Although I wish they would just get lost and go back to that damn cabin." Sasuke was a little irritated, it didn't take a genius to know that.

Sakura only laid her head onto Sasuke's chest and closed her eyes. She should get some rest, she had almost drowned and that had completely drained her.

"Sasuke," Sakura called out, "I thought you said Charlotte's were made by scientists, how can there be two people who have had them since children and left out in the forest?"

"I don't know. That's why I am concerned about them. I am very skeptical about who these two kids are." Sasuke answered while gritting his teeth. It was all too fishy for him.

He didn't say so out loud, but he believed these kids might be associated with the scientists. Just as Sakura had stated, no one is ever born with a Charlotte. There is no way these kids could have ever escaped Konoha High. At least, not on their own. It also was a little too weird that the parents were not around. Katsui had mentioned that they faked their deaths, but Konoha High had never disposed of the dead in a proper way. And because the dead were never disposed properly, there was no way that two bodies could have escaped the institution. But then again, Sakura's body made it out. So maybe the parents were of high power in Konoha High? And so, assuming that the parents were truly scientists, and they got Katsui and Mika out alive into the wilderness, how does it benefit Konoha High? All these questions were irking him and he had the need to find answers. But this was something he did not want to get associated with just yet. He had to worry about Sakura and getting her to the Mist Village.

* * *

"Mother had said that two people would arrive to our forest." Hatsui began and Mika nodded.

"One male and one female." Mika stated as she also knew what her mother had said.

"They would take us to a place where we wouldn't have to hide anymore." Hatsui finished and Sasuke made a small snort.

"She could have literally been speaking of anyone. It doesn't mean we are your saviors." Sasuke smirked at their ignorance.

"How would your mother have known that?" Sakura asked, completely on the defensive now. This was getting weird. First she hears from Sasuke that they were placed out here, and now their mother knew the future?

"Mother had a Charlotte as well." Mika said and immediately, Sakura and Sasuke shot each other looks.

"I see. Did you happen to know what it was?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, she could see glimpses of the future. They weren't always clear, but they were accurate." Mika stated and Sakura only gulped. This was getting real fishy and she wasn't liking it.

"That's interesting." Sakura said as she got closer to Sasuke. She suddenly grabbed hold of his hand and with her thumb, began to trace letters onto his skin.

Sasuke understood that she was trying to send a message. 'Spies?' Sakura traced and Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement. He shrugged to answer her question and she began forming a different message. 'The information seems off.' Sasuke nodded and Sakura sighed. These siblings were going to become a problem and neither Sasuke or Sakura knew how to deal with them at the moment. Plus, they had more important matters to worry about at the moment.

* * *

"I think Naruto might have gone after Sasuke. The idiot never follows orders correctly." Shikamaru ran a hand through his loose hair before grabbing firm hold of it and putting it up with a rubber band.

"Let's not talk about my son right now." Minato said as he moved past the trees around them. They had been out in the open for a day and a half now. Minato hadn't told Orochimaru about Naruto leaving, there's no way he could do that. Naruto would be hunted. What's worse, is that Orochimaru would most likely make Minato do it. Of course, right now Minato was focused on getting that stupid girl. Kushina's life depended on it.

"Minato-sensei, we plan on going to the Mist village right?"

"Yes, Sai." Minato sighed and made a move to get ahead of the group. He was too caught up in his thoughts to want to converse with the team.

* * *

"So, Sasuke is single right?" Mika whispered towards Sakura and the pinkette jumped a bit in surprise. This girl was interested in Sasuke?

"Yea, he's single." Sakura answered. She wasn't lying, she and Sasuke weren't anything.

"Oh great! He's so cute and we just totally go together!"

"You go together?" Sakura raised her eyebrow at the girl.

"Yea! I'm water and he's fire, opposites attract you know. We could fall in love and be so passionate." Mika suddenly had hearts as eyes and this creeped Sakura out. The healer slowly side stepped to get some distance between herself and Mika. She was honestly on the defensive since they brought up their psychic mother. It just didn't make sense to Sakura. She turned her emerald eyes forward to see Sasuke walking calmly next to Hatsui. They seemed to be talking, but Sakura was a bit too far away to be able to make out the words.

"Hey, where are you and Sasuke heading?" Mika asked, once again closing the distance between the two girls.

"W-We're just heading," Sakura didn't know what to say. Sasuke didn't tell her to lie or anything. Should she say the truth or make up a lie? But what if Sasuke already told a lie to Hatsui and the two were different? Sakura was starting to panic a bit. She had to think fast.

"Home. We are heading home." Sakura fnished as she smiled. Mika nodded, and giggled.

"Where is your home?" Hatsui suddenly asked. He had overheard Sakura's answer and now was halted waiting for the girl to catch up. Sasuke nodded towards Sakura and he began the answer.

"We live in the land of Whirlpools. We were visiting an old friend and so we came so far away from home." Sasuke held his hand out towards Sakura, motioning her to take it. Mika saw this gesture and slyly placed her foot in front of Sakura's.

"A-Ah!" Sakura fell forward and fell into a pair of arms.

"Woah, be careful there!" Hatsui said as he held the girl in his arms. Sasuke made a move to remove her from Hatusi's grasp, but Mika jumped in.

"So you're from the land of Whirpools, that's great. Maybe I can spend some time with you when we get there? Hatsui can walk Sakura to her home when the time comes right?" Mika smiled and grabbed hold of Sasuke's left arm. She giggled and Sasuke grunted.

"Can we get a move on?" Sasuke was irritated that these two were being annoying.

Hatsui nodded and let Sakura go. The girl quickened her steps to catch up to Sasuke but was held back by Hatsui.

"Tell me more about yourself Sakura." He smiled down at her and if she didn't suspect him of being a spy, she would have thought he was sincere.

"Well, what do you want to know?" Sakura began to play along. No way she was letting her guard down, not even for a second.

* * *

 **Hey guys, I've been gone for a while huh? Sorry about the absence, I've had to do some soul searching! But I am back and better than ever. I am releasing a Naruto Chapter later on today. For this story of course, since it is his Birthday today. It will be mostly about Naruto and Sasuke in honor of the battle that is being concluded this Thursday. I cannot promise I will update this Thursday, but keep a look out!**


	14. Happy Birthday, Stupid

**A/N: The flashbacks of Naruto and Sasuke are set when they were kids, about five years old!**

* * *

 _"I will not hurt Sasuke. You understand that right?" The boy began as he stared intently into his father's eyes. Naruto was best friends with Sasuke and no matter what, there would not be a battle between them. Not even if Minato ordered Naruto to engage in violence against Sasuke. Naruto would rather have Minato disown him._

 _"When in battle, you will not have another choice. It is either him, or your," Minato trailed off. Naruto only took a step forward._

 _"Or my what?"_

Naruto sighed as he continued through the woods. How could he be spending today like this? Chasing after his best friend. Although in his defense, he thought Sasuke was being manipulated as well. Today wasn't supposed to be spent like this. Sasuke wasn't supposed to be so far away. Why wouldn't Sasuke have told him about the situation though? They were best friends after all.

"Damn it Sasuke."

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXx FlashBackXxXxXxXxXxXx**_

" _Hey dad, where's mom?" Naruto asked as he held on to his father's hand while walking down the corridors._

" _She's out in the village, she'll be back soon Naruto." Minato smiled down at the boy and motioned towards the training grounds._

" _Go and train hard so that your Charlotte can appear." Minato let go of the boy's hand and Naruto quickly ran off. He had to make his father proud and awaken his Charlotte soon._

" _A-Ah!" Naruto hit the ground and he quickly stood back up in anger, "H-Hey watch it!" Naruto found himself staring into dark eyes. They seemed to be void of any emotion as if the owner was dead. Naruto back off slightly in a bit of fear, but soon came to his senses when the boy in front of him merely walked off._

" _Dang, what a jerk." Naruto muttered and then an idea came to mind, "Hey you jerk!" He yelled as he tackled the stranger to the ground. Naruto and the boy rolled three times before coming to a halt. The boy was on top of Naruto holding him by the collar of his shirt. A fist was above Naruto's face and Naruto was helpless._

" _Don't approach me again." The boy stated as he got off of his attacker and turned to walk away._

" _H-Hey! Tell me your name!" Naruto yelled out, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" The boy stopped and sighed._

" _Uchiha Sasuke. I mean it about approaching me again." Sasuke then disappeared into the halls. Naruto was left in awe of this boy and in excitement decided to blurt out._

" _We'll fight again! And when we do, I'll definitely beat you!"_

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXx END XxXxXxXxXxXx**_

Sasuke watched Hatsui with Sakura. He was unhappy that he hadn't gotten to talk to Sakura more today because of these siblings. It was irking him. Furthermore, today was a special day. He wanted to see if Sakura had any memories of the last event she attended on this day back in Konoha High. Sasuke was impatient with this whole loss of memory thing, he didn't like having to think about memories alone. Having to think about bonds that were broken that day many years ago. He wondered if Naruto would forgive him for missing today, maybe he'd be annoying and try to reprimand him. But knowing Naruto, he'd probably try to have another fight.

 _ **XxXxXxXxXxXx FlashBackXxXxXxXxXxXx**_

 _Sasuke sat by the small pond near the peach tree garden. He looked at his own reflection and began to cry. He felt alone and vulnerable, of course he would never show this side to anyone. But this was his get away spot. His mother loved peaches, and sometimes snuck some peach pie to Sasuke at night. Father would have been angry if he had ever found out._

" _Itachi.." Sasuke muttered as he clutched the ground for dear life. He was hurt immensely by the thought of never seeing his family again. That could very well be what the situation was, for Sasuke had no idea if his family was even alive._

 _That night, Sasuke was in his room with his mother. Eating a peach pie slice, it had come out too sweet for his likings but he would have never told that to mother. He remembered hearing her laugh at his clumsiness when he dropped a piece on his clothes. Before she could clean it though, two men in black tore the door to his room down. His mother grabbed him and began to run towards the window but she was grabbed by the hair. She pushed him and motioned him to jump, "Sasuke!" She yelled as she was dragged into the hallway away from his sight. He cried but jumped out of the window. He wouldn't make it far before he would be captured._

" _Mother.." Sasuke cried and was surprised to hear the leaves crumbling behind him._

" _H-Hey you! Listen to me, we're fighting and I'm beating you!" Naruto yelled and pointed towards Sasuke's back in an accusing manner. Naruto knew today would be his victory, just as he began to get ready to tackle Sasuke. Naruto's eyes caught sight of something he'd never seen before. Sasuke turned only slightly, but the tears were evident on his face. This threw Naruto off and he became flustered._

" _You stupid idiot, fine. Let's fight" Sasuke clenched his fists but Naruto sighed. Suddenly, Sasuke was intrigued to know as to why the boy wasn't attacking, "What's wrong? Chickening out?"_

" _Why are you always alone?" Naruto asked and Sasuke's eyes widened. What a question to ask after declaring battle._

" _Because I've always been alone. I get nervous around other people." Sasuke wasn't necessarily lying, he didn't like socializing. His mother had always forced him to._

" _Oh yea?" Naruto's face was red and he was pouting like a child, "Well you're alone now, so why are you crying?" With that sentence being said, Naruto sighed and stomped over to the spot next to Sasuke. He quickly sat crisscrossed and Sasuke only gasped slightly. He was thrown off by Naruto's sudden actions. Maybe this kid wasn't that annoying?_

" _So you don't want to fight?" Sasuke asked and Naruto shook his head._

" _I can't fight a dude who's crying. It's lame." Naruto stated and Sasuke smiled slightly before taking a seat down next to the blond._

" _I wanted to fight you today, because I wanted today to be the day I beat you." Naruto muttered as he threw grass into the lake. Sasuke only looked at Naruto's reflection._

" _Why today?"_

" _Because," Naruto turned to Sasuke and gave a big grin, "It's my birthday." Sasuke watched as the blond smiled widely and his blue eyes sparkled immensely with just that one statement. He hadn't smiled like that since he was taken away from his family._

" _I see," Sasuke sighed and turned back to his own reflection in the water, "Shouldn't you be with your parents or your friends?"_

" _I don't have any friends. And dad is busy with work and so is mom." Naruto stated as his smile faded._

 _Sasuke watched the boy's liveliness die down and for some reason, he didn't want it to. So he quickly pushed the boy into the lake._

" _H-Hey!" Naruto yelled as he rose from the water and raced towards Sasuke._

" _You shouldn't be sad over such trivial things. I lost everything in one night." Sasuke stated and Naruto quickly halted his movements, "Today should be a good day. Even for you." Sasuke sighed and stood to walk away._

" _W-Wait!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shirt from behind and Sasuke turned to face him, "Meet me here tomorrow afternoon. I'll bring ramen cups and some board games. Is there any food in specific that you like? I can ask my mom to help me make something?" Naruto didn't want this opportunity to pass. He wanted to have a friend. He wanted to be Sasuke's friend._

" _I'll think about it," Sasuke said as he turned around and began to walk away, "Peach pie and maybe tomatoes." Sasuke said quickly and quietly but Naruto heard and he grinned widely._

" _Happy birthday, stupid." Sasuke said loud and clear before disappearing into the hallways._

* * *

 **The flashbacks were set when they were kids. October 10th is Naruto's Birthday and so I wanted to do a small tribute. it may not be much, but it will go with the story! Be back soon!**


End file.
